Female bust; France, c. 1900.

Female bust; France, c. 1900.
"Marianne".
Patinated calamine.
Presents losses.
Signed Cabet (Paul Cabet).
Measurements: 32.5 x 18.5 x 10 cm.
During the Third French Republic the image of Marianne was consolidated as a visual emblem of republican values. The work derives from the original model created by the sculptor in 1875, widely disseminated through serial reproductions in different materials.
From a stylistic point of view, the bust responds to an idealized realism of academic roots, characteristic of French sculpture of the late nineteenth century. The female face, serene and firm, has balanced features and a restrained expression that conveys civic dignity rather than individual emotion. The modeling is precise, with particular attention to the structure of the face and the treatment of the hair, arranged in a natural but orderly manner, reinforcing the formal clarity and symbolic legibility of the figure.
Marianne appears as the personification of the French Republic, embodying the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity. The choice of calamine responds to a clear ideological purpose: to democratize the republican image and make it accessible to broad sectors of society.
Historically, the work is linked to the Third Republic's effort to consolidate its visual identity after decades of political instability. Cabet's model became one of the official prototypes of Marianne, balancing classicism, modernity and symbolic neutrality, qualities necessary to represent a common political ideal.