19C French Bronze Centerpiece by A Carrier

PRESENTING a STUNNING 19C French Bronze Centerpiece by A Carrier.

Made in France circa 1860, this is an ORIGINAL bronze by Albert-Ernest Carrier-Balleuse.

Properly signed on the base.

This bronze is a Centerpiece consisting of a neoclassical Roman or Greek lady or Goddess carrying a large bowl. She stand on a highly decorated and footed plinth.

Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (born Albert-Ernest Carrier de Belleuse; 12 June 1824 – 4 June 1887) was a French sculptor. He was one of the founding members of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, and was made an officer of the Legion of Honour. Carrier-Belleuse was born on 12 June 1824 at Anizy-le-Château, Aisne, France. He began his training as a goldsmith’s apprentice. Carrier-Belleuse was a student of David d’Angers and briefly studied at the École des Beaux-Arts. His career is distinguished by his versatility and his work outside France: in England between 1850 and 1855 (working for Mintons), and in Brussels around 1871. His name is perhaps best known because Auguste Rodin worked as his assistant between 1864 and 1870. The two travelled to Brussels in 1871, and by some accounts Rodin assisted Carrier-Belleuse’s architectural sculpture for the Brussels Stock Exchange.

Carrier-Belleuse made many terra cotta pieces, the most famous of which may be The Abduction of Hippodameia depicting the Greek mythological scene of a centaur kidnapping Hippodameia on her wedding day. He was made artistic director at the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres in 1876.

In 1862 Carrier-Belleuse was one of the founding members of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, and was made an officer of the Légion d’honneur. The bronzes he executed prior to 1868 were always signed “Carrier” or “A. Carrier”, but after 1868 his signature was changed to “Carrier-Belleuse”.

His work encompassed all manner of sculptural subjects and materials, and his naturalism incorporated a breadth of styles: unembellished Realism, neo-Baroque exuberance, and Rococo elegance.

His sons were the painters Louis-Robert Carrier-Belleuse and Pierre Carrier-Belleuse.

Carrier-Belleuse died on 4 June 1887 at Sèvres, France.