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a carved bust of a man with a hat on his heada carved head of a bearded man with a bearda sculpture of a man ' s head with a bearda carved head of a man with a beard on a black backgrounda large piece of wood with holes in it
Artcurial

323 - Arthur CRACO (Brussels, 1869–1955) Study for the sculpture o…
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Estimate €1,000 - €1,500
Sale commission
Description
Arthur CRACO (Brussels, 1869–1955) Study for the sculpture of Saint Joseph and the Infant Jesus in Koekelberg Basilica Patinated terracotta Inscribed ‘Esquisse pr / ST JOSePH / (…) / CRACO’ on the right Height: 34 cm Provenance: Galerie Clémence Dollier, Paris; Acquired from the gallery by the current owner; Private collection, Paris Born in 1869 in Brussels, Arthur Craco studied sculpture at the Brussels Academy of Fine Arts after abandoning his engineering studies, and joined the studios of Constantin Meunier and then Thomas Vinçotte. After taking his first steps in the art world as an engraver, he began producing his first ceramics in 1896 in his Brussels studio, before going into partnership between 1898 and 1908 with Emile Eugène Declercq, a potter from Rebaix, a historic centre of artisanal production. With great expressive intensity, this terracotta piece is a preparatory study for the monumental ensemble that Craco dedicated to Saint Joseph and the Infant Jesus in the Basilica of Koekelberg. This sketch, fashioned by a vigorous and passionate hand, reveals the artist’s sculptural vision in its raw state: the exploration of volumes, the structuring of planes, and the model’s inner tension. At this stage of development, the figure of Saint Joseph appears as a stern, almost archaic head, emerging from the clay with an earth-shaking power. Brought to life by vigorous strokes of the fingers and tool, the modelling is deliberately irregular; the face, deeply carved by shadows, seems to emerge from the shapeless mass like a vision born of the earth itself. The closed or barely suggested eyes, the low, broad forehead, and the thick beard rendered in fragmented masses lend the saint a meditative character, imbued with a silent gravity, far removed from the familiar bonhomie of traditional depictions. The sculpture thus stands out as a psychological study as much as a formal one: a fragment of mysticism in its exploratory phase, in which Craco already succeeds in capturing the soul of his subject. Arthur CRACO (Brussels, 1869–1955)
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About the sale Old Masters & 19th-century masters
Auction location
Auction time 09/15/2026 at 11:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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