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Alfred Boucher (1850–1934) Volubilis
White marble relief
Sig…
See original version (French)
Alfred Boucher (1850–1934) Volubilis
White marble relief
Sig…
See original version (French)
Estimate €8,000 - €12,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Alfred Boucher (1850–1934)
Volubilis
White marble relief
Signed on the right-hand edge of the block, towards the bottom: ‘A.
BOUCHER’
H. 68 cm
Bibliography
Jacques Piette, Alfred Boucher 1850–1934, L’œuvre sculpté, Catalogue raisonné, Paris, Mare & Martin,
2014, model listed under no. A38b, pp. 178–183
Initially a pupil of Marius Ramus, then of Paul Dubois and subsequently of Augustin Dumont, Alfred Boucher was
admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1869 and won the second Prix de Rome in
1876 with *Jason Seizing the Golden Fleece*. A renowned portraitist, Boucher received numerous
public commissions. The artist took as much pleasure in depicting allegories as he did in portraying
anonymous labourers, blending the political world with the rural.
The ‘Volubilis’ model drew its inspiration both from a poem by René François Sully
Prud’homme and one of the figures that Alfred Boucher created in 1894 to adorn the tomb of the
foundryman Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810–1892) at Père Lachaise Cemetery. Alfred Boucher
enjoyed great critical acclaim at the Salons of 1896 and 1897 with his depiction of
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full-length ‘Volubilis’. Buoyed by this enthusiasm, the artist decided to produce several variations
of this work, whilst retaining the three-quarter front view of the bust and the profile of the face. These
variations of nude young women, depicted as busts or half-length figures, bear
poetic titles: “Le Souvenir”, “Le Printemps”, “Le Rêve”. Each piece reveals the
particular attention the artist pays to a specific detail of the composition. In this work, the
“Volubilis à mi corps”, the emergence of a slender female figure from a block of rough marble
as well as the deliberate contrast between the materials and the non-finito technique evoke both
the work of Auguste Rodin and that of Michelangelo.
Expert: Cabinet Lacroix-Jeannest
69 rue Sainte Anne - 75002 PARIS
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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