Alfred Foretay

ALFRED FORETAY (Switzerland, 1861-1944).
Large "Neptune" vase, ca,1900.
Silver-plated pewter.
Signed on the back.
Slight curvature at the base.
Bibliography: Philippe Dahhan, "Etains 1900 - 200 Sculpteurs de la Belle Epoque", Editions de l'amateur. Page 148, fig. 400.
Weight: 9,900 g.
Measurements: 49 x 32 x 25 cm.

This piece in the form of an amphora and baluster silhouette, made of silver-plated pewter, is a tribute to classical mythology from a modernist point of view. The central relief shows the god Neptune emerging with authority along with his imposing sea steeds, while the lower part merges into a dynamism of fish and waves in motion. The work masterfully illustrates how Art Nouveau reinterpreted classical figures to integrate them into organic and fluid forms.

Alfred Jean Foretay was a Swiss sculptor and painter who began his career in the office of his father, an architect. At the age of 16, he moved to Paris, where he trained at the École des Beaux-Arts as a student of Alexandre Falguière (he received an honorary mention in 1891 and a gold medal in 1904). Foretay is known for his bronze sculptures, architectural decoration, statuettes and decorative pewter vessels in Art Nouveau style. After a successful career in France, he returned to Switzerland in 1911 to devote himself to architectural sculpture and later turned to Impressionist-style landscape painting. His sculptural work is remarkable for the versatility of his creations and their adaptation to the aesthetics of the end of the century.