Eugène-Antoine Aizelin
Eugène-Antoine Aizelin. Bronze, dark brown patina, raised on a later associated beige columnar marble pedestal.
FRENCH, 19th century
PSYCHÉ
The base signed Ene AIZELIN. Fit. 1863 and inscribed F. BARBEDIENNE FONDEUR and with the Achille Collas pastille. Raised on a beige marble pedestal.
Figure height 69 cm.; pedestal height
Provenance: Old and important Dutch private collection, Mr. Molekamp.
Auction result comparison: Compare with a related Eugène-Antoine Aizelin, PSYCHÉ, of larger size at Bonham’s Los Angeles in The Elegant Home, Select Furniture, Silver, Decorative and Fine Artson 8 December 2015, lot 1458, sold for USD 33,750. Compare also with a related but larger bronze figure at Sotheby’s New York in Property from the Estate of Rochelle Sepenuk on 21 October 2008, lot 235, sold for USD 17,500,
Aizelin was a pupil of Dumont and exhibited at the Salon between 1852 and 1897. He won a gold medal at the Paris 1889 Exposition Universelle and was made a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur in 1867. Barbedienne cast Psyche in seven sizes, of which the present model is the second largest.
Born in Paris, July 10th of 1821, Eugene Aizelin was a student of Etienne-Jules Ramey and Augustin-Alexandre Dumont at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris in 1844. Starting with his first successful debut in 1852, he pursued a fruitful and long fifty year career until his death in Paris, 1902. He is generally recognized for his contributions to biblical and mythological subjects, as well as operatic and genre scenes, actively producing many very successful works most commonly with the Ferdinand Barbedienne foundry. He received numerous commissions from the State and from the City of Paris for the decoration of public buildings, working on the three great Parisian building projects of the Second Empire (1851-70), the new Louvre, the Opera and the Hotel de Ville, as well as on theatres, the Parisian churches of the Trinity and Saint-Roch and other institutions. His works are documented in most major books on bronzes of the period, many of his pieces held today in museum collections, particularly in France.
Notes & Further Reading:
Catalogue Bronzes D’Art F. Barbedienne, Paris, 1886 edition, p. 42
Bronzes, Sculptors and Founders, Berman (biography and notes)
Bronzes of the 19th Century, Kjellberg, pg. 32
Condition Report:
Light patina wear and discoloration throughout, as expected from regular handling. Light oxidization to base. Overall exceptional condition.
Eugène-Antoine Aizelin
