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Félix Charpentier (1858-1924).
Gilded bronze sculpture of a young man playing a transverse flute fashioned from a branch, known as "l'Improvisateur".
Paris, late 19th century.
Signed and dated 1887. Marked by the founder "E. COLIN & Cie Paris".
From a private collection in Toulouse.
Height: 35 cm
Charpentier is best known for his furniture, which features this type of figure. Some are in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.
A monumental example of this sculpture can be seen in the port of Bandol in Provence.
The first "improvisateur" was exhibited at the 1887 Paris Salon, where it won high praise and second prize. Charpentier took the bronze to the 1889 Paris World's Fair, where it was awarded the silver medal. It was purchased by France for the Musée de Luxembourg, the country's first museum of contemporary art. The famous bronze founder Colin obtained the publishing rights.
A plaster sketch of this model can be found in the collections of the Musée d'Orsay.
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