Alfred Emilien de Nieuwerkerke

ALFRED EMILIEN DE NIEUWERKERKE (1811-1892).
"Death of Monseigneur the Duke of Clarence".
Bronze.
Foundry Quesnel Frères, 1835.
Measurements: 48 x 62 x 21 cm.

The one we now tender is a war scene representing the death of the Monseigneur Duke of Clarence. In its predella there is a text that narrates a combat encounter between a knight named Garin, Lord of Fontaine, and the Duke of Clarence. Garin knocked down the Duke of Clarence, who never recovered. The battle resulted in the death of many important people on the English side.

Viscount Alfred Émilien O'Hara, Count of Nieuwerkerke, was a central figure in French cultural politics of the Second Empire, excelling as a sculptor, influential politician and museum director. Although initially trained in the cavalry, Nieuwerkerke abandoned his military career to devote himself to art, studying sculpture with Carlo Marochetti in Italy.