Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse French, 1824-1887

This unpublished original terracotta model is an important and intriguing addition to the extensive oeuvre of Carrier-Belleuse.  Prominently signed and dated  11 Juin 1871 Bruxelles, it was modelled at a fascinating period in his career when he was invited to contribute to the grand building projects in the Belgium capital, principally the decoration of La Bourse, the Stock Exchange.

Carrier-Belleuse was offered a studio on the rue Montoyer, where he employed some young local sculptors, such as Norbert Newis, Antoine-Joseph Van Rasbourg and Jan Dillens.  In the spring of 1871 he brought one French assistant to Brussels, Auguste Rodin.  Much speculation surrounds the exact involvement of Rodin in Carrier-Belleuse’s Belgium commissions, both his public projects and the more decorative compositions which date from this period.  L’Innocence tourmentée par l’Amour (see lot 96) is often cited as an example of this collaboration. Sander Pierron was probably the first commentator to make this connection, noting in particular the similarities of the putti with Rodin’s Toilette de Vénus, also called La Source.  The robust, baroque twisting pose of the putto in the present terracotta can equally be compared with the similarly conceived putto in Rodin’s Toilette de Vénus.

The precise allegory of this impressive terracotta, as well as the significance of the 11 June 1871 (which was a Sunday) remains uncertain.

RELATED LITERATURE
S. Pierron, ‘François Rude et Auguste Rodin à Bruxelles’, La Grande Revue, Paris, 1 October, 1902, pp.138-162 ; Vers L’Age d’Airan Rodin en Belgique, pp.109-110, no.5, pp.117-118, no.9 ; Hanotelle, pp.22-32