Sculpture

Provenance:

(Probably) Count Hippolyte de La Rochefoucauld (1804 – 1893); thence by descent in the La Rochefoucauld family at the Château de Verteuil, Charente, France.

 

This exquisite pair of French 18^th Century bronzes comprises a figure of the Farnese Hercules, after the antique original in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, and an unknown pendant representing Omphale. Together they form a logical pairing as Omphale was the mistress of the hero Hercules, during a year when Hercules remained under Omphale’s servitude. Omphale is depicted wearing the skin of the Nemean Lion and carrying Hercules’ olive-wood club.

The figure of Omphale draws comparison with the work of the Philippe Bertrand (Paris 1663 – 1724), who has emerged as an artist of great ability, but also of considerable importance in a transitional phase of French sculpture. Bertrand displays a remarkable facility with the materials of bronze or wax. This pair of bronzes is also notable for the detailing on the naturalistic bases.

The title of Duke de La Rochefoucauld is a French peerage belonging to one of the most famous families of the French nobility, whose origins go back to Lord Rochefoucauld in Charente in the 10^th and 11^th centuries. The Chateau de Verteuil dates back to 1080 and has since been extensively rebuilt, although 12^th-Century walls remain. Much of this restoration took place in the first half of the 19^th Century. The work was undertaken by the La Villéons in the romantic style that accompanied the Bourbon Restoration after 1815. The château was always the property of the La Rochefoucauld family until its recent sale. Several members of the family have been collectors of note, although the most likely candidate for the acquisition of this pair of bronzes is Count Hippolyte de La Rochefoucauld (1804 – 1893), who may also have acquired Foggini’s Laocoon, which today resides in the Getty Museum in California.