CAVELIER, Jules

(b. 1814 Paris, d. 1894 Paris)

French sculptor. His father was a designer of bronzes, silverware and furniture. He began his studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in 1831 as the pupil of David d’Angers and Paul Delaroche. At twenty-two he obtained the second grand Rome premium, at twenty-eight the first prize for a figure of Diomede capturing the Palladium. He exhibited at the Salon in 1842 a Conqueror at the Olympic Games; in 1849 the famous statue of Penelope Asleep, which Duke Luynes bought for the Castle of Dampierre, and obtained the Honour Medal and a pension of 4.000f. At the Salon of 1852 he exhibited a statue of Truth, which was bought for the Luxembourg Gallery, at the Universal Exposition of 1855, a Cornelia, a Bacchante, and a remarkable bust.

Cavelier made the two statues which were placed above the clock of the former Hotel de Ville of Paris, the statue of Francis I which was in the Court of Honour; a group of Fame Rewarding the Arts, which was at the façade of the Apollo Gallery; a statue of St Matthew for the portals of Notre Dame de Paris; the caryatides of the central pavilion in the new Louvre, and statues of Abélard and of Blaise Pascal for the Louvre and the Tour Saint-Jacques.

In 1865, he became Duret’s successor as a member of the Institute. He was an Officer of the Legion of Honour since 1861. He had the reputation of being an exemplary teacher, devoted to his pupils.

Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi

The group represents Gaius and Tiberus Gracchus with their mother Cornelia.

Cornelia was the daughter of the Roman general Scipio Africanus Major, and wife of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus. Her two sons, Tiberius and Gaius, known as the Gracchi, also held important public office. It was told of Cornelia, who was a woman noted for her virtue and abilities, that she was once visited by a Roman matron who ostentatiously showed off her jewellery. When she asked to see Cornelia’s, the latter produced her two young sons, saying, ‘These are my jewels,’

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Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi

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Penelope Asleep

The sculptor in this statue - originally entitled Greek Woman Asleep - played with the drapery and the picturesque details of chair, basket, and jewelry. It was exhibited at the Salon of 1849 and was a huge success. It was bought by Duke Luynes for the Castle of Dampierre.

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