CARRIER-BELLEUSE, Albert-Ernest

It was not so much for depth of emotion that artists, like Carrier-Belleuse, turned to antiquity, but more as a pretext for portraying the nude which they sought to make as sensual as possible.

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) was a Medieval Italian poet and philosopher whose poetic trilogy, The Divine Comedy, made an indelible impression on both literature and theology.

Carrier-Belleuse’s portraits of women are few, and for them he often worked in a neo-Rococo mode, participating in the eighteenth-century revival that began and flourished in the mid-nineteenth century. The identity of the sitter of the present bust is unknown. The women Carrier-Belleuse portrayed were generally actresses or singers, wives or daughters of friends, and high society ladies, whose identities were discreetly concealed.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) was a Swiss-born French philosopher, writer, and political theorist whose treatises and novels inspired the leaders of the French Revolution and the Romantic generation.

The statue is signed: A. CARRIER-BELLEUSE and entitled: PRINTEMPS.

In Greek mythology, Hippodamia was the bride of King Pirithous of the Lapiths. At their wedding, Hippodamia, the other female guests, and the young boys were abducted by the Centaurs. Pirithous and his friend, Theseus, led the Lapiths to victory over the Centaurs in a battle known as the Centauromachy.

This bronze is probably a collaborative work of Carrier-Belleuse and the young Auguste Rodin, who worked in worked in Carrier-Belleuse’s Brussels studio from 1864 to 1871.

This marble group depicts a classical hero putting on his helmet for battle, while a reclining nude woman looks up at him in contemplation, perhaps distressed by the warrior’s imminent departure. It is unclear which particular hero is represented, but the scene most likely refers to the Trojan War and its warriors’ separation from their wives to win eternal glory on the battle field.

This model was designed for the Op�ra in Paris. It is very different from the finished work. The graceful female figures recall the Renaissance style of Fontainebleau.

This work is signed by Carrier-Belleuse, but it was likely a collaboration between Carrier-Belleuse and Rodin after Rodin’s trip to Italy in 1875. Auguste Rodin joined the workshop of Carrier-Belleuse in 1864 and the was the master’s assistant until 1870.