Large 19th century bronze, 85 cm, signed Paul DUBOIS 1829/1905, Harlequin

Large Bronze 19th century, signed Paul DUBOIS 1829/1905, Harlequin

Epoch: 19th century, Bronze with lost wax and on a bronze base, in excellent condition.

Signed: Paul DUBOIS, 19th century artist referenced and listed
Subject: Harlequin
Dimensions: total height: 85 cm, width: 45 cm, depth: 40 cm, approximately 30 Kg

Biography:
Paul DUBOIS 1829 / 1905
Paul Dubois, born July 18, 1829 in Nogent-sur-Seine (Aube)1 and died May 23, 1905 in Paris (6th arrondissement), is a French sculptor and painter.
Paul Dubois was the son of François Antoine Dubois (1798-1868), royal notary, mayor of Nogent-sur-Seine and general councillor of Aube, and the great-nephew of the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Pigalle. He made his debut at the 1857 Salon under the name of Dubois-Pigalle, where he was very successful.
After studying law, he was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the studio of Armand Toussaint, then went to Rome. He made his debut at the 1860 Salon by exhibiting the Bust of the Countess of B. and a Child. He won a medal for his first two statues Saint John the Baptist and Narcissus at the Bath in 1863.
Deeply influenced by Italy and Renaissance art, he became a leader of the so-called "Florentine" sculptors, emulators of their predecessors of the Quattrocento.
Back in Paris, he enjoyed great success with Le Chanteur florentin du xve siècle and won the medal of honor at the 1865 Salon.
Paul Dubois became friends with other sculptors, Henri Chapu (1833-1891), Alexandre Falguière (1831-1900) and musicians such as Georges Bizet (1838-1875).
The Duke of Aumale commissioned him to create the equestrian statue of Constable Anne de Montmorency located in the center of the esplanade leading to the entrance to the Château de Chantilly.
One of his major works is the statuary of the Cenotaph of General de Lamoricière at Nantes Cathedral. Dubois was commissioned to sculpt the four bronze statues that frame the mausoleum, which were notably inspired by the allegories of the Medici tomb in Florence. He exhibited two of these figures, Charity and Wisdom, at the 1877 Salon.
In 1865 and 1876, he received a medal of honor at the Salon des Beaux-Arts. He was a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts.
In 1873, Dubois was appointed curator of the Musée du Luxembourg. In 1878, he succeeded Eugène Guillaume as director of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

His students included Fabio Stecchi and Camille Claudel until the latter met Auguste Rodin in 1884.
His Monument to Joan of Arc, inaugurated on the forecourt of Reims Cathedral on July 14, 1896, also contributed to his fame and earned him a promotion to Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor2 by the President of the Republic Félix Faure.

Paul Dubois died on May 23, 1905 in Paris. He is buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery (9th division). His funeral monument is decorated with a bronze statue by the sculptor representing his mother, Claudine Sophie.
Barbedienne was his founder for many years.
Source Bénézit and Pierre Kjellberg, Dictionnaire des sculpteurs : les bronzes du xixe siècle, Éditions de l'Amateur, 1997.
Works in public collections
Chantilly: Château de Chantilly, esplanade: Monument to Anne de Montmorency, bronze equestrian statue.
Dreux: Royal Chapel: recumbent statue of Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale 1822 1897, fifth son of Louis Philippe.
Gray (Haute-Saône), Baron-Martin Museum, Mother and Child, Sèvres biscuit, 23.2 x 24 cm, bequest of Albert Pomme de Mirimonde to the RMN, assigned to the Gray Museum.
Montpellier: Fabre Museum: Bust of Alexandre Cabanel, 1882.
Nancy: The Souvenir, Salon of 1899.
Nantes: Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul Cathedral: Charity; Wisdom; Faith; Military Courage, bronze statues flanking the Cenotaph of General de Lamoricière.
Paris:
National Academy of Medicine: Louis Pasteur, bust.
Orsay Museum: Florentine Singer of the 15th Century, 1865, silver-plated bronze. The plaster model of this statue is in the Museum of Fine Arts in Troyes.
Romantic Life Museum: Bust of a Woman, marble.
Petit Palais: Eve, 1873.
Place Saint-Augustin: Monument to Joan of Arc, 1900.
Church of the Holy Trinity of Paris: The Virgin and Child.
Reims: Monument to Joan of Arc, 1896.
Troyes: Sets of sketches, Dante, cherubs, bust of a woman, Marie-Louise d'Adda Salvaterra,
Naked women in a wood, Italian peasant woman, Landscape, cliff, Marine, Study of trees,
Military courage, charity, faith.

Museums:
Angoulème, Bayonne, Chalons sur marne, Chartres, Epinal, Grenoble, Langres, Niort, Paris Orsay, Paris Petit Palais, Périgueux, Troyes, Versailles château.

THE HARLEQUIN
Harlequin (in Italian: Arlecchino) is a typical character of the commedia dell'arte who appeared in the 16th century in Italy, with a black mask and whose costume is made of multi-colored diamonds. These would represent the multiple facets of Harlequin, as well as his poverty.
Harlequin plays the role of the humble servant, as in Harlequin, servant of two masters,

Ref: E85FQLEV2I