Aimé-Jules Dalou

Overall the condition of the bronze is very good. There is some dirt in the crevices. There is some minor wear to the patina consistent with age.
"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."

Dalou's seated angel protecting five children is a gentle allegory of the English Royal family's familial love. His inspiration for this maquette, of which this is the second, more developed version, was Gian-Lorenzo Bernini's (1598-1680) terracotta sketch for one of the angels on the Ponte Sant'Angelo, Rome (now in the Musée Louvre, Paris).

Princess Louise of England, herself an amateur sculptress and student of Dalou, commissioned the master to model a terracotta monument to her mother Queen Victoria's grandchildren. The terracotta, completed in circa 1878, was placed in a niche at the Royal Chapel at Windsor Castle, where it remains today. Dalou was exiled from France in 1871 but immediately found a sympathetic environment in London, he had a formative influence on the emergent New Sculpture movement in Britain and a steady stream of important patrons who supported him with commissions. This royal commission was further endorsement of his standing.

RELATED LITERATURE
Monuments to the Middle Class Nineteenth Century Sculpture, ex. cat. J.B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, 1971,  p.109, no.38; J. Hunisak, Carving Casts & Replicas. Nineteenth-Century Sculpture from Europe & North America in New England Collections, ex. cat., Middlebury College Museum of Art, Middlebury, 1994, pp. 99-100, no. 27; P. Fusco and H.W. Janson,The Romantics to Rodin, ex. cat., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 1980, p. 188-9, no. 69.