Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi (1834 - 1904)

Private collection, Netherlands

This allegorical figure of Asia is a reduction of one of the monumental statues representing the Four Parts of the World, conceived by Auguste Bartholdi (1834–1904) for his monument dedicated to Admiral Bruat in Colmar.

This work was the second major commission Bartholdi completed in his native city, following the monumental bronze statue of General Rapp inaugurated in 1856. The project, which evolved considerably due to financial difficulties later resolved through a generous donation from the artist’s mother, occupied Bartholdi from 1857 until its inauguration in August 1864. The monumental fountain paid tribute to Armand Joseph Bruat (1796–1855), a celebrated admiral who perished tragically at sea, having served as Governor of the Marquesas Islands from 1843 and later of the Antilles from 1849. In 1863, the monument was presented as a large-scale model at the Salon (no. 22371), one year prior to its final installation on the Champs-de-Mars in Colmar.

The standing bronze figure of Bruat was placed upon a central stone pedestal, while the continents—two female and two male sandstone figures—were arranged on lower bases. The bronze statue of Bruat was requisitioned during the Occupation, and the remainder of the monument, including the continents, was destroyed in 1940. In its current state, the fountain incorporates the bronze of the admiral together with reconstructions completed in 1958. The Bartholdi Museum in Colmar devotes an entire room to this monument, displaying terracotta and plaster models, including preliminary terracotta studies (for the allegory of Asia, inv. SB68). The original pink Vosges sandstone heads of the four continents, fortunately excavated from the ruins by two citizens of Colmar (for the head of Asia, inv. SB72), are also preserved there.

Of traditional composition and inspired by the Antique, the four continents (Africa, Asia, Oceania, and America) were conceived after the models of reclining river deities. Our allegory, wearing an intricately worked “elephant” headdress, reclines upon a tiger skin, her eyes closed to suggest the meditative practices associated with the continent she represents. Her physiognomy—particularly the treatment of the brow and eyelids—constitutes an explicit homage to Buddhist statuary. She leans against architectural fragments and books evoking the splendor of her ancient civilizations, with a feather fan to her right, while the extinguished torch held in her left hand symbolizes “the lights she once bore so powerfully” (Le Petit Journal, 6 June 1863, no. 126, p. 13, commentary by Hérald during the Salon presentation of the fountain).

While the original pink Vosges sandstone figures required a relatively simplified execution to withstand exposure to the elements, this bronze of Asia, of great precision, displays a subtle treatment of volume and surface texture.

Although no documentary evidence survives regarding the precise context of their production, the few known bronze reductions of the Continents display variations in technique and finish that suggest several successive editions. For example, the bronze of Africa in the National Gallery of Art, Washington (inv. 1991.84.1) appears to derive from an early edition cast by Charnod et Fils, perhaps based on the plaster model exhibited at the 1863 Salon (see R. Butler, S. Glover Lindsay, op. cit., p. 6). Furthermore, the posthumous inventory of Jeanne-Émilie Baheux de Puysieux (1829–1914), the sculptor’s widow, records an exclusive contract concluded with the founder Thiébaut on 15 June 1884 for the production of bronze reductions of the Continents (35 by 45 cm). The absence of a founder’s mark, together with the technical characteristics of the present bronze, indicates that it may belong to an edition preceding that of Thiébaut—possibly by Charnod et Fils.

¹ Illustrated in J. Betz, op. cit., p. 50.

² The initial project included an allegorical figure of Europe, depicted as a woman leaning against a globe with books and sheaves of wheat at her feet. The figure was removed due to financial difficulties and simplifications demanded by the town of Colmar; Bartholdi also felt that the central figure of the Admiral sufficiently represented the European continent.

³ https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k588238t/f1.item

⁴ Foundry created by Pierre Charnod (from the Eck and Durand foundry, he set up his own business around 1840), also responsible for the monumental figure of Admiral Bruat (see R. Butler, S. Glover Lindsay (eds.), op. cit., note 5), cast by reusing bronze from cannons captured by Bruat during his campaigns.

RELATED LITERATURE

S. Lami, Dictionnaire des sculpteurs de l’école française au dix-neuvième siècle, T. I, Paris, 1914, p. 65 ;

J. Betz, Bartholdi, Paris, 1954, pp. 46-50 ;

R. Belot, D. Bermond, Bartholdi, 2004, pp. 117-119 ;

R. Butler, S. Glover Lindsay (dir.), European Sculpture of the nineteenth century, Washington, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2001, p. 4-7 ;

La Sculpture ethnographique au XIXe siècle, exh. cat Musée d’Orsay, Paris, 16 March – 22 June 1994, p. 43.

RELATED WORKS

Quatre parties du mondes, bronze reduction

• Me Chevallier sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 2 May 1892, lot 10 (one bronze dated 1864)
• Dorotheum, Vienna, 31 January - 2 February 1935, lot 257

Asie, bronze reduction

• Sotheby’s London, 16 November 2006, lot 43 (with Afrique)
• Millon et Associés, 19 May 2008, lot 47 (signed in front of the terrace)

Afrique, bronze reduction

• National Gallery of Art, Washington, inv. 1991.84.1, LIEN
• Sotheby’s London, 16 November 2006, lot 43 (with Asie)
• Christie’s, 20 September 2012, lot 236

Océanie, bronze reduction

• Jackson's International Auctioneers, Cedar Falls (Iowa), USA, 19 November 2013, lot 164, LIEN
• Private collection, London (see R. Butler, S. Glover Lindsay (dir.), op. cit., note 5)

Amérique, bronze reduction

• Private collection, London (see R. Butler, S. Glover Lindsay (dir.), op. cit., note 5)