Théodore Rivière

Sotheby's London, 12 June 2006, lot 89

Overall the terracotta is in good condition, with no apparent losses. There is an area of glued repair below the proper left hand which may suggest that the left arm has been broken at the elbow and re-attached. The helmet is possibly re-attached, and there are some small restorations to the flaps. There are minor cracks and chips to the original slip which are consistent with age and some minor blanching to the slip around the outer edges. There are a few chips to the plaster around the wood base plate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The romantic personality of the composer Beethoven fascinated many artists of the late 19th century. Beethoven's passionate temperament, genius and the tragic loss of his hearing all fuelled the artistic imagination. Around thirty thousand mourners and curious onlookers were present at Beethoven's funeral procession, and many monuments were conceived to the celebrated man.

Rivière has captured both the inspiration and the torture of the man. A stately and mysterious muse, draped with a veil, stands at his right shoulder, whilst the two men crouched behind seem to whisper taunts into his left ear.

Rivière studied at the École des Beaux Arts under Jouffroy and Falguière, going on to spend five years working in the studio of Mercié. For a time Rivière lived in Carthage, and it was from here that he sent his two Orientalist groups based on the story of Salambô to the Salon in 1894 and 1895, with great success. He was best-known for small scale works and orientalist subjects, but also produced monumental works such as his marble group Les Deux Douleurs exhibited at the Salon of 1903. 

The present model appears to be a study for a monument and may possibly be associated with the plaster statue of La Musique, which Riviere exhibited at the 1879 Salon.

RELATED LITERATURE
S. Lami, Dictionnaire des sculpteurs de l'êcole Française au dix-neuvième siécle, Paris, 1919, vol. iv, pp. 144-148

The Museum Europeu d'Art Modern, Barcelona (MEAM)

The Museu Europeu d’Art Modern (European Museum of Modern Art) is one of Barcelona’s hidden gems, situated in an elegant 18^th-century palace in the heart of the city’s old town, El Born. Founded for the promotion of 20^th and 21^st-century figurative sculpture and painting, the museum houses an outstanding and growing collection of contemporary art. Each year it hosts the Figurativas Painting and Sculpture Awards, which brings together representations of the human form by contemporary artists from across the globe.

The following lots are a carefully curated selection of highlights from the Museum’s collection of 19^thand 20^th-century sculpture. It begins with a series of elegant classicising and Romantic marbles, led by Émmanuel Hannaux’s magisterial Le poète et la sirène (lot 34). These works evidence the belle époque fascination with the idealised human form, combined with wistful and exotic subjects. Affortunato Gori’s sumptuous Oriental Dancer (lot 37) highlights the fin de siècle taste for Orientalist subjects, reflecting major literary works from the time, notably Oscar Wilde’s Salome (1906). Historicism is represented in the very rare and dramatic original terracotta Monument to Beethoven by Théodore Rivière (lot 48).

The divergent movement towards a modernist aesthetic is witnessed in George Minne’s beautifully carved Le petit blesse II (lot 59) which represents the Symbolist desire to depict inner emotions in plastic form. Several works within the sale were created by artists like Minne, who were heavily influenced or trained by Auguste Rodin. The most striking of these is Louis Dejean’s column of swirling and twisting bodies (lot 82), which recalls Rodin’s Gates of Hell. A more classicising modernist aesthetic is seen in Fritz Klimsch’s elegant rendering of Frühling (Spring) (lot 63). This is complemented by Raymond Delamarre’s strong Art Deco David (lot 55), and his totemic torso LaBolognaise (lot 70). However, perhaps the most beautiful of the Art Deco sculptures is the Nude Girl by Jaume Otero i Camps (lot 40), a Catalan artist with native resonances for MEAM. Charles Despiau’s Le Faune (lot 58), seen on the cover of the catalogue, displays a softer classicism in line with the work of Aristide Maillol. Portraiture is represented by François Pompon’s charming Bust of André Leproust, and Jan and Joël Martel’s extraordinary clean-cut image of Professor Henri Vignes.

Each of the works in the catalogue were exhibited in Una mica d’escultura, si us plau! L’escultura europea del segle XX at MEAM, a dedicated exhibition of the Museum’s collection of European 19^thand 20^th-century sculpture.