Auguste-Hyacinthe Debay

Overall the condition of the terracotta is very good. There is some minor wear and dirt to the surface consistent with age. There has been some restoration to the surface; remnants of another slip are visible under the current wash. There is a chip to the lower edge of the back of the base.
"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."

Auguste-Hyacinthe de Bay had his first major public commission at the age of 13 with a colossal bust of Louis XVIII for his native city of Nantes. The Salon debut of this child prodigy came the following year. He trained in sculpture with his father Jean-Baptiste de Bay (père) and in painting with the renowned Baron Gros. Auguste-Hyacinthe was principally a painter, with Lami noting only 15 sculptures. However, his occasional sculptural contributions to the Salon were well received. Le Berceau primatif was exhibited in marble at the Salon of 1845 and the Exposition Universelle of 1855. It was admired by the most influential critics of the day including Baudelaire and Théophile Gauthier who called it an "ingenious idea", comparing the infants in the encircling arms of their mother to birds clustered in a nest.

De Bay's poignant subject matched contemporary sensibility. The nude Eve, nestling Cain and Abel, was a secularised Madonna recalling Michelangelo's Bruges Madonna, her maternal serenity set in ominous contrast with the tragic future of her sons, revealed the relief around the base.

RELATED LITERATURE
P. Fusco and H.W. Janson, The Romantics to Rodin. French Nineteenth-Century Sculpture from Amrican Collections, exh. cat. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 1980, pp. 226-7, no. 103