Félicie de Fauveau (1801-1886) and Hippolyte de Fauveau (actif au XIXe siècle)

Froment-Meurice collection, Paris, circa 1855 ; André Giroud antiquaire, Paris ; French private collection.

Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1855, n° 5121 ; Félicie de Fauveau. L'Amazone de la sculpture, Historial de Vendée, Les Lucs-sur-Boulogne et musée d'Orsay, Paris, 2013, n° 55.

A. Dufour, V. Berri (dir.), Félicie de Fauveau. L'Amazone de la sculpture, cat. exp. musée d'Orsay, Paris, 2013, pp. 336-337, n° 55, ill. n° 126.

Overall, the condition of the marble is very good, with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. The tip of the mermaid's nose is lost, and there are a few small chips to the mouth of the left fish. There are some small naturally occurring inclusions to the marble consistent with the material, including two small ones to the merman's nose, and to his proper right forearm. There are some small orange marks to the proper left side of the right fish, and some further minor dirt marks. There are some small chips to the back right edge of the sculpture. There is a small hole to the front of the base, some minor abrasions to the side, and some small chips to the edges.
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"The expression of the triton is perfect, and that of the siren does not yield to him. On land as on waves, in the days of the gods of Homer as in our days, sirens are always the same. The one from the Fountain by Mademoiselle Fauveau is a charming girl of marble [...] - Who will be the happy mortal who will be able to buy it, if there is not yet a buyer, this small masterpiece and to decorate the dining room of an ancient castle, to make it used, as erstwhile, for the ablutions before and after feasts." (A. Aldini, op. cit. p. 313).
After the legitimist sculptor's long absence from the French artistic scene and exile in Florence for some twenty years, such is the enthusiastic reception received by Félicie for the fountain sent to the 1855 Universal Exposition in Paris. Architectural and decorative elements form an essential part of her work. In particular, she designed the interiors for the château of Ussé, owned by her dear and faithful friend the Countess de Rochejaquelein, and for Dunecht House, a Scottish property of Lord Lindsay, a distinguished historian and fervent supporter of Félicie. She also produced decorative ensembles in Florence, of which those unfortunately were lost, for Anatole Demidof's property in San Donato. Numerous drawings illustrate the sculptor's relentless work in the decorative arts. Other fountains are attributed to Félicie, including the Ondine or Nymph of a Fountain (not located), known from a photograph dating from 1869 (A. Dufour, V. Berri, op cit., N ° 70, ill. 119), and the Garden Fountain with Nymph and Dolphin 1848 (St. Petersburg, Peterhof State Museum). Félicie's visionary concept of striving for a global creation and an arts coalition edifying together a coherent ensemble without the hierarchy of form announces the future evolutions of Art Nouveau.

RELATED LITERATURE
A. J. du Pays, L'Illustration, t. XVII, 1856, p. 123 ; J. Barbotte, "Félicie de Fauveau, héroïne vendéenne et sculpteur romantique, 1801-1886", mémoire de l'Ecole du Louvre, Paris, 1971, pp. 46-47. A. Aldini, La Revue franco-italienne, 1855, n° 40, p. 313 ; S. Lami, Dictionnaire des sculpteurs de l'école française au XIXe siècle, t. II, 1916, (rééd. 1970), p. 348.