Martin vans den Bogaert, Lot n° 36

BRONZE CULPTURE OF LOUIS XIV IN POSE OF A ROMAN IMPERATOR ON HORSE Total height: 65 cm. Width: 47. Depth: 27 cm. On accompanying base in boulle technique. Bronze, chased and patinated. Pedestal in Louis XVI boulle marquetry. Copper and tortoiseshell inlays, ebony veneer, chased and gilt bronze. Equestrian statues of imperial rulers were a pictorial tradition from antiquity. For Louis XIV, the Sun King, Martin van den Bogaert, called Martin Desjardins (1640-1694), created an equestrian statue, for the Place Bellecour in Lyon, in the pose of a Roman emperor, with armor and general's coat. With only one raised foot of the horse, this design followed Italian Renaissance models. The present bronze was undoubtedly made between 1690 and 1694 and corresponds in composition to a sculpture of Louis XIV on horseback made by Desjardins in Aix-en-Provence in 1687. A copy of the same size is in the Green Vault, Dresden. The accompanying text reads: "The equestrian statuette of King Louis XIV of France is first mentioned in 1733 in the inventory of the Bronze Room in the Green Vault; it is unclear how it came to Dresden. The Sun King wears the baroque allonge wig fashionable at the time, but is otherwise depicted in ancient garb as a Roman commander, holding the baton in his right hand. A lion skin serves as saddle. The dynamic of the group, expressed by the king's waving cape and the horse's fluttering mane, is particularly impressive. The weight of the group rests solely on the animal's hind hooves and its long tail. Other casts of the same model were accompanied by a figure of Victoria, the goddess of victory, holding a wreath over Louis's head." The base of the present example is made in wood, in the form of a rectangular box, with a projecting base. Veneered in ebony, decorated on all sides with boulle technique, the inlays in polished brass. Beautiful dark lacquer patina. One rein strap loose, another missing, otherwise perfect condition. Provenance: Formerly the collection of the Countess of Pimodan. Note: Further examples of the bronze were sold at Christie's in 2005 (with a smaller base) and at Koller, Zurich in 2008 (there also on a Boulle base). Literature: Cf. Mercure de France, Paris Dec. 1737, I, 2653. Cf. Hjalmar Friis, Rytterstatuens Historie i Europa fra oldtiden indtil Thorvaldsen, 1933, fig. 182. Cf. exhibition catalogue:The French Bronze 1500-1800, 6-27 November 1968, M. Knoedler & Co. (ed.), no. 52. Cf. François Souchal, French Sculptors of the 17th and 18th centuries. The Reign of Louis XIV, Volume I, Bruno Cassirer, London 1977. Cf. Michel Martin, Les Monuments équestres de Louis XIV, Une grande entreprise de propagande monarchique, Picard, Paris 1986. Cf. Peter Volk, Guillielmus de Grof (16776-1742). Studies on sculpture at the court of the Electorate of Bavaria in the 18th century. Dissertation, Frankfurt am Main 1964. (12618155) (11) Martin vans den Bogaert, also known as martin Desjardins, 1637 - 1694 Important equestrian statue of Louis XIV in bronze Total height: 65 cm. Width: 47 cm. Depth: 27 cm. On matching base, decorated with Boulle marquetry. In ebony veneer, decorated all around in Boulle marquetry with polished brass inlays. Beautiful dark lacquer patina. One horse rein loose, one missing, otherwise in pristine condition. An example of the same size is held at The Green Vault, Dresden. Provenance: Former collection of Countess of Pimodan. Notes: Further examples of this bronze were sold at auction at Christie's in 2005 (with smaller base) and at Koller/Zurich in 2008 (also with Boulle marquetry base). Literature: Compare Mercure de France, Paris December 1737, I, 2653. Compare H. Friis, Rytterstatuens Historie i Europa fra oldtiden indtil Thorvaldsen, 1933, ill. 182. Compare exhibition catalogue, The French Bronze 1500-1800, 6 - 27 November 1968, M. Knoedler & Co. (ed.), no. 52. Compare F. Souchal, French Sculptors of the 17th and 18th centuries, The Reign of Louis XIV, vol. I, Bruno Cassirer, London 1977. Compare M. Martin, Les Monuments Équestres de Louis XIV, Une grande Entreprise de Propaganda monarchique, Picard, Paris 1986. Compare P. Volk, Guillielmus de Groff (1676-1742), Studien zur Plastik am kurbayerischen Hof im 18. Jahrhundert. Dissertation, Frankfurt am Main 1964.