Romantic Sculpture Under Louis-Philippe

At odds with the Empire’s Neoclassicist tradition, the new spirit of Romanticism swept over Paris-based sculptors from 1830 to the 1848 Revolution. This exhibition presents a group of sculptures in bronze, terracotta, plaster and marble by various artists who left their mark on the art of this period: from Augustin Dumont to Auguste-Hyacinthe Debay, Jean-Marie Bonnassieux, Henri de Triqueti, Hippolyte Maindron and David d’Angers.

On the occasion of this exhibition we present a new, unpublished, group of sculptures, some of which are attributed to Antonin Moine. Known mainly for his statuettes in Renaissance or medieval costume, he is a perfect representative of the troubadour taste alongside his more famous contemporaries such as Félicie de Fauveau, who skilfully linked sculpture and the decorative arts. Somewhat neglected by critics and historiographers alike, Antonin Moine nevertheless appears to be the ultimate romantic artist because of the difficulties he experienced in finding sponsors, but above all because of his tragic death, which was recounted and regretted  by Victor Hugo, who was close to the artistic milieu of this period, and who devoted three pages to it in his book Choses Vues. We hope that replacing this ensemble of sculptures, faithful to Moine’s spirit and manner, like Laura and Petrarch, the Lady with a Falcon and the Olifant Player, will contribute to putting this long-forgotten artist back at the heart of conversations. 

Among this selection, are also included artworks exhibited at the Salon, like Edouard Dubufe’s portrait in an oriental costume by his wife, Juliette Dubufe (née Zimmermann), Salon of 1842, the Young Traveller at the Thermopylae Burial Mound by Jean-Baptiste Paul Cabet, 1844, Antoine Etex’s Leda, 1861, or the gracious Seated Lady by Molknecht, 1838.