Lot 272
  • 272

FRANÇOIS NICOLAS DELAISTRE (PARIS 1746-1832 PARIS )FRENCH, DATED 1800 | Bust of a young woman

Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Bust of a young woman
  • inscribed beneath her proper right shoulder: fructidor an 8 (19 August - 23 September 1800)
  • terracotta
  • height 17  3/8  in.; 44 cm.

Provenance

Collection of J. Seguin;
Drouot Richelieu, Paris, room no. 7, 8 April 2005, no. 192 (there attributed to Houdon);
Galerie Eugène Becker (there attributed to Delaistre)

Literature

Séverine Darroussat, 'François Nicolas Delestre (1746-1832): sculptures retrouvées ou inédites, portraits de famille' in Bulletin de la Société de l' Histoire de l"Art français, Paris, 2006, pp. 128-130 and p. 142, no. 6,  figs. 9a and 9b

Condition

Some standard (and stable) firing hairline cracks throughout (some of which have been filled). There has been some expert restoration to the piece including the nose and areas of the neck , which is extremely difficult to detect. The surface has been applied with a terracotta coloured slip but the modelling, particularly in the hair, remains sharp and vivid. There is a small aperture at reverse of base (probably for release of heat during firing). Lovely object.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

This charming portrait by Delaistre is both sensitively and elegantly rendered. The sculptor easily combined realistic details, such as a mole on the side of her nose, with the stylized treatment of her spirited eyes and the fashionable hair style, both common to this artist's portrait work. Her skin is supple and her parted lips reveal some of her teeth; she appears to be in mid-sentence as she demurely turns her head to the left.  A terracotta bust of  a child signed and dated 1798, with similar proportions and the same wasted socle as the present terracotta, is in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Angers (MBA J 759 (J1881)S). Delaistre's exquisite 1813 terracotta portrait of Empress Marie-Louise in Fontainebleau can also be compared to this bust in the treatment of the mouth, eyes and hair.

Delaistre joined the studio of Louis-Claude Vassé at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, and won the first prize for sculpture in 1772 for the bas-relief The Meal of King Balthazar for which he received a stipend to study in Rome. He was a friend of Augustin Pajou who influenced Delaistre's early works. From 1799 to 1814, Delaistre exhibited approximately 25 works at the Salon, 18 of which were portraits or busts. His talent in this field was recognized when he was chosen to portray the imperial couple (Napoleon and Marie-Louise).