Late 18th century French school: Terracotta bust most likely - Lot 276

Late 18th century French school: Terracotta bust most likely representing General Marceau; he is depicted with his head turned slightly to the right, wearing a hussar uniform and a knotted tie; the hermes bust rests on a small square-legged base centered with a flaming grenade. Monogrammed Jb and dated 1795. H: 77 - W: 36.5 - D: 29.5 cm. Provenance: Galerie Philippe Perrin, Paris. This bust may be an early preparatory study for the terracotta bust of François-Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers, known as General Marceau (1769-1796), created around 1800 by Jacques-Edme Dumont (1761-1844) and now in the Musée du Louvre in Paris (Inv. 2988). The Louvre bust is considered to be the model Dumont used for a marble commissioned by the Minister of the Interior, presented at the Salon of 1801 and destined for the Galerie des Consuls in the Palais des Tuileries, which disappeared in the Tuileries fire of 1871. Finally, a plaster copy belongs to the collections of the Musée National du Château de Versailles (n°526 in Eudore Soulié's catalog). Lot presented by Cabinet Etienne-Molinier