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portrait of a man in a brown jacket and yellow tie sitting at a tableportrait of a man in a brown jacket holding a book and a vasepainting of a man with a mustache and a vest holding a pipepainting of a man with a mustache and a moustache sitting at a tablean image of a painting of a man with a knife in his hand
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269 - Antonio Sisteré de HERNANDEZ (1854–?) Portrait of Charles Co…
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Estimate €8,000 - €12,000
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Description
Antonio Sisteré de HERNANDEZ (1854–?) Portrait of Charles Cordier (1827–1905) Oil on canvas depicting the famous sculptor Charles Cordier in his studio. He is depicted seated, richly dressed and adorned, decorated with the Legion of Honour, holding a terracotta piece and a spatula. Beneath the painting is a copy of Charles Cordier’s *Sculpture Ethnographique*. H.: 95 cm; W.: 70 cm Background: Charles Cordier (1827–1905) was a French sculptor who, after graduating from the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1846, joined the studio of François Rude, a leading sculptor of the first half of the 19th century. Charles Cordier soon developed a taste for ethnography after meeting a slave, Seïd Enkess, who had recently been freed and went on to become a professional model. He went on to specialise in Orientalism. His work gained recognition at the Salon of 1848, the year slavery was abolished, thanks to his bust of Saïd Abdallah, of the Mayac tribe in the Kingdom of Darfur. Queen Victoria purchased this bronze at the Great Exhibition of 1851. Cordier continued to travel throughout Italy, Algeria, Greece and even Egypt in order to refine his ethnographic studies. In 1858, he published a collection of photographs, taken by Marville, of his works; entitled *Sculpture Ethnographique*. Charles Cordier’s aim was to achieve polychromatic effects, and he used a wide range of materials: Paros marble, carved onyx for the drapery, enamels on copper, silver and gold. He would sometimes dye Carrara marble, but also incorporate semi-precious stones. His work, characterised by precision and ethnographic research in his busts and portraits, was highly sought after. At the 1863 Salon, he perfected his legendary use of colour with the bust *Algerian Jewish Woman*. This piece was acquired by Empress Eugénie for her Chinese museum at Fontainebleau. Charles Cordier’s orientalist and eclectic work during the Second Empire established him as one of the pioneers of ethnographic realism.
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About the sale Provenance and Collection
Auction location
Auction time 10/30/2026 at 11:00 AM
Lot description modified on 10/13/2026 at 6:35 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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