Walter Pompe, 1703 - 1777Paire d'Allégories féminines, vers 1766

Réputé provenir du Château d'Alost (Kasteel van Aalst), Gelderland, Belgique ; collection privée européenne.

Walter Pompe, Beeldhouwser 1703-1777, cat. exp. Museum voor Religieuze Kunst, Uden, 1979, pp. 76, 77, 81, 110, 116, n° 12 et 47.

Good condition overall with minor wear to the gilding and the polychromy consistent with age and handling. Wood is very finely carved. The gilding of both allegorical figures has probably been retouched. A few splits and chips visible at several places. Both sculptures are signed. A metal hook is visible on their backs. The unveiled allegorical figure (on the right): her proper right hand is carved in several elements with joints visible to her elbow and wrist, one finger is missing. All the fingers of her proper left hand are missing. The upper part of the palm tree branch in her proper right hand is missing. Three toes of her proper right foot have been reattached, with the big toe slightly loose. One of the three volutes of the base is slightly loose. An old label with indistinct inscriptions under her proper right foot. Drilling holes are visible on the allegorical figure's proper left arms and flank at several places where the torch is attached.The veiled figure (on the left): her proper right forearm is carved in several elements with joints visible, one finger and the tip of two fingers missing. The proper left hand reattached or carved separately with joints visible, one index is missing. Four toes of her proper right foot reattached. A few tips of the palm tree branch are missing. Another old label with an indistinct inscription beneath the drapery of her coat.These figures may have been Religious allegories with attributes in their arms. They may have been modified into torchers by adding cornucopias.
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Elève de Michel Van de Voort (1667-1737), Walter Pompe devient l'un des grands représentants du baroque tardif anversois. Son oeuvre se compose de terres cuites et de sculptures en bois polychrome dont d'importants décors religieux, notamment pour les églises Saint-Laurent, Saint-Antoine ou Saint-Augustin d'Anvers. Elle se caractérise par l'élégance des silhouettes, la grâce des postures et l'ampleur aérienne des drapés aux plis souples. Nous pouvons citer plusieurs exemples de figures féminines grandeur nature proches de nos modèles dont la Maria Immaculata en bois doré (église Saint-Lambert à Rosmalen, 1751; haut. 130 cm) ou l'Allégorie de la Justice en terre cuite dorée (mairie de Culemborg, 1735 ; haut. 107 cm).
Une terre cuite préparatoire à notre figure allégorique dévoilée, signée et datée 1766, nous renseigne sur son sujet (musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles, inv.n°4499). En effet, la figure allégorique de Bruxelles tient dans les bras une ancre, symbole de l’Espérance (fig.1), l’une des trois vertus théologales avec la Foi et la Charité. Le voile couvrant la chevelure de notre seconde figure féminine nous laisse à penser qu’elle aurait été conçue comme une allégorie de la Foi, portant vraisemblablement à l’origine un livre ou un calice ; son pendant devant initialement tenir une ancre dans ses bras.