Large patinated bronze figure of Actaeon by Emile Laporte

Large patinated bronze figure of Actaeon by Emile Laporte
French, Late 19th Century
Height 84cm, width 42cm, depth 44cm
 
By the French artist Emile Laporte, and cast by the Siot-Decauville Foundry in Paris in the late nineteenth century, this very fine patinated bronze sculpture, large in size, depicts Actaeon, a well-known figure from Classical mythology, who suffered a famously tragic death at the hands of the goddess Artemis when he found her bathing in a woodland grove when out hunting.
 
He is shown as a semi-clad male figure holding a bow in one hand, with a quiver at his feet, standing on a naturalistic circular base. He stands facing upwards, full of curiosity, trepidation, and foreboding; the artist has chosen to depict him in the moments before he the goddess curses and transforms him into a deer to be devoured by his own hounds. The base is signed within the cast 'E.LAPORTE' and with Siot-Decauville Fondeur PARIS foundry mark.
 
Artist/Maker: Emile Laporte