French Bronze Sculpture “La Fil de la Vierge” by Pierre-Emile Hebert ca. 1880

PIERRE-EMILE HEBERT
French, 1828-1893

"La Fil de la Vierge"

Sand-cast and patinated bronze executed by the Georges Servant foundry ca. 1880
Nuanced medium brown patination with reddish undertones
Signed in cast "EMILE HEBERT" and cold-stamped verso G&S

22 5/8" H x 9 13/16" D x 11 7/8" W

A finely cast bronze figure titled La Fil de la Vierge after the model by Pierre-Émile Hébert, the sculpture depicts a seated young woman handling a delicate thread interwoven between her fingers. The young woman rests on a rocky outcrop at the edge of a quiet pond of water where reeds and aquatic foliage spill across the bank. Her gaze is one of total focus, her chin directed slightly upward as though expecting the twisting threads to dislodge from her fingers and float away in the winds at any moment.

The subject probably traces its inspiration from the French expression fil de la Vierge, a term rooted in rural folklore and used to describe the long silken threads released by young spiders during late summer. These strands, often visible floating across fields, were traditionally associated with innocence, transition and the passing of seasons. Hébert’s interest in symbolic narrative is reflected in the lightness of her gesture and the calm introspection of her posture. The thread becomes a poetic device that links the figure to ideas of transience and the fragile continuity of life. Like all things given and not owned, she touches the thread in her hand, only just barely experiencing it before - like so many before it - the wind carries the thread away.

The present cast is an exquisite example of the mastery of the Georges Servant foundry. Note the expert surface treatment: the enlivenment of the bronze through chasing, filing, cross-hatching and hammering where texture is not naturally captured from the underlying molds. The surface is finished with a deep brown patina with complex undertones of caramel, red-oxide and copper, silky and translucent in a way that accentuates through reflection the contrasting textures of the surface.

Condition: A nuanced relief to patina throughout, largely in the raised elements (knee, edges of garment, edges of arm, around the base). In-painting to the patina to restore color loss in her upper back, the raised parts of her hair, portions of her face and other minor touchups. Carefully cleaned and waxed. A fine presentation, ready to place.

ref. 503QKP21A

PIERRE-EMILE HEBERT
Pierre-Émile Hébert was born in Paris on January 1, 1828. He entered the École des Beaux-Arts in 1845, where he studied under the sculptor Pierre-Charles Simart. Hébert first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1857 and continued to exhibit there regularly throughout his career. His submissions included both ideal subjects and portrait work, and he received several official distinctions: a medal of the third class in 1860, a second-class medal in 1863, and a first-class medal in 1869.

Hébert participated in the Exposition Universelle of 1878, where he presented multiple works, and he also exhibited at the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris. He was appointed a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur in 1867 and was promoted to Officier in 1874.

Hébert maintained an active presence in the Parisian art world until his death in Paris on July 26, 1893.