Carrare marble bust of Mme Récamier by Joseph Chinard 19th century

Large Carrara marble bust of Madame Juliette Récamier*, hands crossed over her chest, her curly hair held back by an elegant headband, based on the famous 19th century bust sculpted by Joseph Chinard**.

This bust is in good condition and of remarkable quality.
The Bust of Juliette Récamier is a marble sculpture created between 1804 and 1806 by Joseph Chinard (1756-1813). It depicts Juliette Récamier (1777-1849), the famous salonnière of Directoire and Consulate society. The original bust, of which several copies exist, is kept at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyon. The bust is nude, covered only by a veil that she holds with her hands crossed over her chest. Her head is slightly tilted, her gaze downcast, and her thick curly hair is held in place by a headband wrapped around her head.
Please note: a piece of the base is broken and needs to be glued back in place (cf. red arrow), this bust needs to be cleaned, as there is some soiling, scratches and wear from the passage of time, so take a good look at the photos.
* Juliette or Julie Récamier, known as Madame Récamier (1777-1849), was a woman of spirit and wonder during the Directoire period. In 1793, at the age of 15 and in the midst of the Terror, Juliette was married to a friend of her parents, M. Récamier, a wealthy Paris banker with whom she formed an affectionate, platonic relationship: she was probably his natural daughter, as she would learn much later. The salon that Juliette Récamier opened soon became a meeting place for select society, but it was not long before the shadows of power began to fall on her. Madame Récamier's beauty and charm won her a host of admirers. She was one of the first under the Directoire to furnish herself in the "Etruscan" style and to dress "à la grecque", and thus played a significant role in spreading the taste for Antiquity that was to prevail under the Empire. A friend of Madame de Staël and, after the Empire, of Chateaubriand, she was a key figure in the opposition to Napoleon's regime. Her salon played a significant role in the political and intellectual life of the period. She was eventually expelled from Paris by the imperial police. After spending some time between September 1811 and June 1812 in Châlons-sur-Marne and then Lyon, where she made friends with Camille Jordan and Ballanche, she visited Italy and was unable to return to France until after the fall of Napoleon. It was also during this period that she struck up a relationship with Benjamin Constant, Madame de Staël's ex-lover. Stricken by major reverses of fortune, she moved to the Abbaye-aux-Bois in Paris in 1819. She was no less sought-after by the world she was fleeing, and saw her retreat frequented by all the celebrities of the day: Chateaubriand, one of the most assiduous, remained her most intimate friend until her death.
**Joseph Chinard (1756-1813)
was a French neoclassical sculptor. In 1770, Chinard joined the Lyon drawing school, directed by Donat Nonnotte, then Blaise Barthélémy's sculpture workshop. From 1784 to December 1787, he lived in Rome to improve his technique and develop his artistic taste. During his stay, he made numerous copies of ancient works in marble, many of which were purchased by his patron for his Lyon hotel. In 1789, having embraced new ideas and realized that artists had a role to play in the French Revolution, he developed a style that differed from the artists of his time, renewing iconography. He spent 6 and 2 months in prison, the first for having displeased the Jacobins, the second for having displeased the Pope. Joseph Chinard exhibited for the first time at the Paris Salon in 1798, where he presented "Enfant échappant au naufrage en se faire une nacelle avec les armes de l'amour" ("Child escaping shipwreck by making a basket with the weapons of love"). After a third and final trip to Rome, he returned to Lyon in 1800, where he settled permanently. Enjoying a good reputation, he was appointed correspondent of the Institut, before becoming, in 1807, by imperial decree, professor of sculpture at the École spéciale de dessin in Lyon. In 1808, Joseph Chinard was awarded the Grand Gold Medal at the Paris Salon. A French neoclassical sculptor, he was recognized as one of the greatest sculptors of his time for his faithful execution, the rendering of flesh in his busts, and the imagination of his compositions. He died of a ruptured aneurysm at the age of 57.
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Dimensions

Height 63 cm
Shoulder width 33 cm
Base 17 cm x 17 cm

830 38

Ref: 08VD9IPQ0O