AGATHON LÉONARD | MARGUERITE

This finely chased figure in an elaborately draped dress is very similar in style and composition to a series of dancers, the Jeu de l'Écharpe, which was conceived by Agathon Léonard. It was first exhibited at the Société Nationale des Beaux Art in 1897 as a project for a theatre foyer. The dancers in elegant poses, which are all characterised by their delicate gestures, loose dresses and wide sleeves, and rapidly became Léonard's most popular works, were produced in gilt bronze by the Susse foundry. The present bronze is a variation on these dancers, depicting Marguerite, who holds a daisy, her namesake (the English translation of the French flower name marguerite). The theme is derived from librettist Michael Carré's Faust et Marguerite, a play based on Goethe's famed work Faust. She was used by the devil Méphistophéles to tempt Dr. Faust and lead him astray. 

Agathon Léonard, born to Belgian parents as Léonard Agathon van Weydeveldt, studied in his hometown Lille under Delaplanche before settling in Paris, first exhibiting at the Salon there in 1868. He had a successful career, exhibiting regularly in Paris until 1914 and serving as part of the jury for the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. He became particularly known for his small subjects representative of the Art Nouveau. His most successful works, the various figures of the Jeu de l'Écharpe, were not only offered to the Empress of Russia as a table centrepiece, but also became bestselling figurines in porcelain, cast by the Sèvres factory. 

RELATED LITERATURE

I. Böstge, Agathon Léonard, Jeu de l'Écharpe, Tafelaufsatz, exh. cat. Bröhan Landesmuseum für Jugendstil, Art Deco und Funktionalismus, Berlin, 2000