Jean-Jacques Feuchère

JEAN JACQUES FEUCHÈRE (France, 1807-1852).
Pair of vases.
Gilded bronze.
Porphyry base.
Measurements: 34 x 8,5 x 10 cm (each).

Magnificent pair of gilded bronze vases made by Jean-Jacques Feuchère, one of the most singular sculptors and bronze artists of French Romanticism. Active in the first half of the 19th century, he stood out both for his monumental production and for his refined decorative works of fantastic character.

Among his best known works are the relief Le Pont d'Arcole for the Arc de Triomphe in Paris (1833-1834), the Joan of Arc for the Hôtel de Ville in Rouen, sculptures for La Madeleine, the Mary Stuart in the Luxembourg garden (Queens of France series), as well as the famous Vase aux chauves-souris (1833, Musée du Louvre).

The present vases fully reflect this romantic and fantastic imagery: winged figures crown the ovoid bodies, while coiled serpents and bats in relief enrich the surface with a bold and expressive repertoire. They reveal a singular ornamental repertoire, in keeping with the neo-Gothic taste that distinguished Feuchère's production.

The contrast between the luster of gold and the deep tone of porphyry, a favorite combination of collectors under Louis Philippe and Napoleon III for its evocative air of "recovered antiquity", is also remarkable.

More than utilitarian objects, these pieces are conceived as ornamental sculptures, an outstanding example of the high technical and creative level of 19th century Parisian artistic bronze.