Exhibitions in Parisian galleries (1)

25/11/24 - Paris - Art market - Two masterly terracotta caryatids (ill. 1 and 2) await you at the entrance to the Talabardon & Gautier gallery, among the highlights of this now traditional exhibition, entitled "The 19th Century". It’s a slightly expanded 19th century, and that’s just as well, since these works, by sculptor Jean-Guillaume Moitte, date from 1790. A collaborator of Claude-Nicolas Ledoux at the fermiers généraux’ barriers, he demonstrated his skills in architectural sculpture and worked on numerous occasions with the architect, who - as recounted in the catalogue entry online here - referred to him as "the new Phidias".

: 1. Jean-Guillaume Moitte (1746-1810)
Caryatide, vers 1790
Terre cuite - 33 x 9,6 x 10,6 cm
Galerie Talabardon & Gautier
Photo : Galerie Talabardon & Gautier; See the image in its page

: 2. Jean-Guillaume Moitte (1746-1810)
Caryatide, vers 1790
Terre cuite - 33 x 8,7 x 11,1 cm
Galerie Talabardon & Gautier
Photo : Galerie Talabardon & Gautier; See the image in its page

The two caryatids, undoubtedly preparatory for the jambs of a fireplace, are probably the result of a new collaboration between Ledoux and Moitte, perhaps for the Hôtel Hosten, the architect’s last work. Note that one of them has a Corinthian capital, the other an Ionic capital, which suggests that they were preparatory studies for a project that had not yet been completed, or else that they were sketches for two separate mantels showing different orders.

: 3. Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard (1780-1850)
« Derniers moments de S. A. R.
Monseigneur le duc de Berry », 1823
Huile sur toile - 57 x 73 cm
Galerie Talabardon & Gautier
Photo : Galerie Talabardon & Gautier; See the image in its page

: 4. Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard (1780-1850)
« Naissance de S. A. R. Monseigneur le duc de Bordeaux, le 29 septembre 1820», 1823
Huile sur toile - 57,3 x 73,4 cm
Galerie Talabardon & Gautier
Photo : Galerie Talabardon…

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