Suite of four terms "aux Quatre Saisons" in gilt bronze, fir - Lot 153

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  3. Suite of four terms "aux Quatre Saisons" in gilt bronze, fir - Lot 153
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Lot n° 153
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Estimation :
20000 - 30000 EUR
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Result : 51 760EUR
Suite of four terms "aux Quatre Saisons" in gilt bronze, fir - Lot 153
Suite of four terms "aux Quatre Saisons" in gilt bronze, first half of the 18th century, circa 1740, attributed to Francesco Ladatte (1706-1787). Composed of busts of mythological figures, Flora representing Spring, Ceres Summer, Bacchus Autumn and Winter, on sheaths adorned with foliage and acanthus. Heights: from 29 cm to 33 cm Representations of the Four Seasons, associated with mythological figures, were themes of sculpture in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Flora represents Spring, Ceres Summer, Bacchus Autumn and a draped old man Winter. A drawing by Jean Raon depicting Winter, preserved at the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris, and an engraving of terms depicting the Four Seasons executed by François Coudray, provide information about plans for marble statues to adorn parks and gardens such as those at Versailles and the Tuileries. The sculptor Marc Arcis (1655-1739) created a life-size marble Flore in the form of a term in 1688 for the gardens of Versailles. From the end of the 17th century, the terms of the Four Seasons were widely used in the decorative arts. century, inspiring such ornamentalists as Jean Bérain. It is often found in the architectural form of terms used on cabinet legs (see the one attributed to the Manufacture des Gobelins in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Strasbourg, the Cabinet de la Guerre designs after Pierre Gole and those by Alexandre-Jean Oppenordt), but also on tapestries (Tenture des Grotesques, Manufacture de Beauvais). On the famous tapestry from L'Histoire du roi, "La Visite du Roi aux Gobelins", artisans can be seen arranging gilded terms on the top of a large cabinet. It is interesting to compare this series of four gilded bronze terms with those decorating the tiered desk of BVRB I's Elector of Bavaria, now in the Musée du Louvre, which again uses this fashionable decorative repertoire. Just as a drawing by the silversmith Ballin incorporates a Bacchus term on a project for a table centrepiece. on a table centrepiece. The abundance of these representations in French decorative arts, combined with the lost-wax casting technique, has led to an attribution to André-Charles Boulle and his workshop (see Dillée collection, Sotheby's sale March 18, 2015, lot 14), but it seems more likely to refer to the work of the famous Turin bronze-maker Francesco Ladatte. He spent 1718 in Paris, immersed himself in the French artistic ebullience of the Regency period, which reverberated when he returned to Turin, and subsequently worked for the Francophile Court of Savoy. In 1732, he returned to Paris, where he most likely rubbed shoulders with the best French craftsmen of the time, such as Charles Cressent, the bronze-maker Jacques Caffiéri and the silversmith Thomas Germain. Some of Cressent's ornamental bronzes, such as the female figures on the commode aux Nymphes at the Residenz in Munich, bear witness to a real stylistic similarity. a real stylistic similarity with Ladatte's creations. In addition to the aesthetic aspect, the round-boss modeling, the finesse of facial expressions and gestures, the treatment of drapery and the quality of the chasing are all in line with the extreme care Cressent took with his bronzes. Ladatte exhibited regularly at the salons du Louvre from 1737 to 1743. On his return to Turin in 1744, he was appointed Bronze Sculptor to His Majesty Charles-Emmanuel III of Savoy, and also produced important goldsmith's and silversmith's pieces. His many skills as a sculptor, bronzemaker and goldsmith enabled him to shape his own style. Comparing our terms with the Four Seasons, executed in the round, with numerous sconces composed of terms of partially draped mythological figures, such as those acquired by the Musée du Louvre in 2008 (inv. OA12240-1 and 2) or those kept at the Poldi Pezzoli Museum in Milan, show undeniable similarities, and illustrate the work of a major craftsman who refined and consolidated his skills as a sculptor, bronzemaker and goldsmith. a major craftsman who refined and consolidated his own style, influenced by what he had acquired in Paris but with a typically Piedmontese exuberance.
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