Charles-Auguste Fraikin

The marble is very finely carved. The surface of the marble is weathered through having been outside, with some loss of surface detail. There are some chips and abrasions, including to the marble base. The first three toes of the mother's proper left foot and the tip of her proper right little finger are restored. The proper right strand of braided hair on the mother's back is reattached. There is veining to the marble and a few minor inclusions consistent with material. Otherwise the condition of the marble is good. The shoe for the woman's proper left foot is carved separately and intentionally detaches.
"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."

This touching marble group with a mother smiling on her child as she finishes breastfeeding, was carved by Charles-August Fraikin, one of the most successful sculptors in mid 19^th-century Belgium. Fraikin’s sculptures, which embody a warm, sentimental, blend of classicism, and look back to the Rococo terracottas of Clodion, were particularly favoured by the Belgian bourgeosie. Trained at the Brussels Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts, Fraikin was propelled to fame when, at the Salon of 1845, he received a gold medal for the plaster model of his Cupid Held Captive; marble versions of the Cupid can be found in the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Art, Brussels, and in the Hermitage, St Petersberg.

The present marble is carved in the same classical style as the Cupid, but rather than representing an allegorical subject, Fraikin, presents the viewer with a deeply human scene: a mother gently smiling down upon her newborn, who is finishing feeding. Fraikin carved a number of similar groups, which capture brief moments of human intimacy; see, for example, his Comme grand-père of 1876, in which a child trys to fit a pair of pince-nez on to her loving pet dog. Une Mère, however, moves beyond mere sentimentality, the mother’s pose and volumous drapes recall Michaelangelo’s Madonna of Bruges of c. 1501-4, whilst the scale of the group underscores Fraikin’s abilities as a sculptor of public statuary.

The original plaster model for Une Mère is housed in the Fraikin Museum Herenthals, Belgium. Another marble version can be found in the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.

RELATED LITERATURE
C. Engelen and M. Marx, Beeldhouwkunst in België vanaf 1830, Brussels, 2002, vol. II. p. 733; J. van Lennep, La Sculpture Belge au 19ème siècle, exhib. cat. Générale de Banque et les auteurs, Belgium, 1990, p. 400