Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse 1824-1887 Michelangelo

patinated bronze, signed A. Carrier-Belleuse and with the PINEDO pastille, raised on a stepped black marble base.

Carrier-Belleuse was instrumental in popularising the fashion for ideal portraits of historical personalities. After his return from England in 1855, he created a lively series of fantasy busts of great artists. Rembrandt was one of the first, exhibited as a faience model in 1863, with a bust of Durer. These two were soon followed by portraits of Beethoven, Mozart, Raphael and as in the present model, Michelngelo. In 1874 he added to the series Rubens, van Ostade, Velasquez and Murillo. Carrier-Belleuse achieved a great success with these busts which he produced in a variety of material to satisfy keen demand from the bourgeoisie.