Auguste Moreau

AUGUSTE MOREAU (France, 1834 - 1917).
Centerpiece, c. 1900.
Bronze with three patinas.
Signed by Auguste Moreau on the rock.
Measurements: 27 x 39 x 23 cm.
Centerpiece made of Vide-Poche bronze, French Art Nouveau style. The piece, although functional, starts from a sculptural conception representing a naiad resting next to a shell on a rock. This piece is an outstanding example of the romantic and symbolist style that characterizes Moreau's work, focusing on idealized beauty and the connection to poetic or allegorical themes.
Auguste Moreau (1834-1917) belongs to the Moreau family, a dynasty of sculptors of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was the son of Jean-Baptiste-Louis-Joseph Moreau and younger brother of the sculptors Hippolyte Moreau and Mathurin Moreau. His sons, Louis Auguste Moreau and François Hippolyte Moreau, were also sculptors, Auguste began his training as a disciple of his older brother Mathurin. He made his debut at the Paris Salon of 1861, where he participated regularly until 1913. He was also a member of the Société des Artistes Français. His themes - genre scenes, pastoral, allegorical - and his style, realistic and full of grace, link him to other members of the Moreau dynasty. He made mainly bronzes, although he also worked in marble and sometimes combined bronze with gold ("Victrix enfant", presented at the 1897 Salon). He produced numerous editions of his works, which were in great demand by the public both for their themes, very fashionable at the time, and for their naturalism and graceful beauty. P
Auguste is the only one of his brothers who did not receive an official award. He is buried in the municipal cemetery of Lilas.
Auguste Moreau produced mainly artistic bronzes. Many of his works are preserved in the Museum of Fine Arts in Troyes and the Museum of Fine Arts in Bordeaux.