Joseph Michel-Ange Pollet French, 1814-1870

After Joseph Michel-Ange Pollet

S. Lami, Dictionnaire des Sculpteurs de l'École Francaise au dix-neuvieme
siècle, Paris, 1916, vol. 4, p. 93
A. Le Normand-Romain, A. Pingeot and L. de Margerie, Musée d’Orsay. Catalogue sommaire illustré des sculptures,
Paris, 1986, p. 208

Overall in good condition. Green patina with some rubbing to areas, slightly striated on legs and upper arms. Some minor color differences such as a lighter color to back. Some oxidation and surface dirt to crevices.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Joseph Pollet was born in Palermo, Italy but practiced and exhibited in Paris, earning the prestigious Légion d’honneur for his work in 1856. His subjects ranged broadly from historical and classical to ecclesiastical and allegorical.  

Une heure de la nuit gained Pollet wide recognition when he exhibited it in plaster at the Salon in 1848. While it was on display he was quickly approached for the rights to edit it, and both Empress Eugenié and the Ministry of the Interior requested a version. Since this exhibition, the composition has been reproduced in multiple sizes and in different materials. The present bronze is among only a few other known examples on this life-size scale, the original being the 1848 Salon plaster sculpture. 

A marble version of Une heure de la nuit was exhibited at the Louvre and is now in the Museum of the Second Empire at the Château de Compiègne-a French Royal residence built for Louis XV and restored by Napoleon I. Other examples of Pollet’s work can be found in the collections of the Musée de Grenoble and the Musée d’Orsay. A brown patinated bronze cast of this model was sold at Sotheby’s London 20 May 2015, lot 84 for 112,500 GBP. A marble model was sold in these rooms on 05 May 2011, lot 93, for 722,500 USD (see fig. 1).