Laurent Marqueste

LAURENT MARQUESTE (France, 1848-1920).
"Victory".
Bronze. Hard stone pedestal.
Signed.
With signature of the publisher F. Barbedienne Fondeur.
Measurements: 80,5 x 50 x 42 cm.

The figure of Victory is presented in all its splendor, with wings spread out, holding in the right hand the victor's crown and in the left the palm branch. It is a work of great mastery, raised on a bronze base decorated with a world map and seated on a hard stone pedestal.

Laurent Marqueste was an academic sculptor, trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he was a disciple of François Jouffroy and Alexandre Falguière. He developed his career within the official taste of the late nineteenth century, with a work deeply linked to academicism and the classical ideal. He was awarded the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1871, which allowed him to reside at the Villa Medici and deepen his study of ancient sculpture, an influence that would mark his entire production. His work is characterized by the representation of mythological and allegorical figures and portraits, treated with great technical refinement, compositional balance and a careful idealization of forms. Marqueste participated regularly in the Paris Salon, where he received several awards, and created numerous sculptures for both public spaces and private collections. He also executed official commissions, contributing to the sculptural ornamentation of buildings and monuments. Overall, his work reflects the continuity of the classical tradition in French sculpture of his time, at a time of transition towards more modern languages.