Alexandre Frédéric de CHARLOT DE COURCY (Paris,... Lot 23

Alexandre Frédéric de CHARLOT DE COURCY (Paris, 1832 - after 1906) The Comedy and the Music Pair of polychrome enamel plates with gold highlights on copper The 1st titled at the top : " COMŒDIA " and signed at the bottom right " - F de COVRCY ". The 2nd titled in top : " MUSICA " and signed in bottom on the right " F de Courcy - " Dim. plate 1 : 22,4 x 9,4 cm in a natural wood frame gilded and titled by a cartouche : 35,2 x 22,2 cm Dim. plate 2 : 22,7 x 9,6 cm in a natural wood frame gilded and titled by a cartouche : [CR}35,8 x 22,7 cm A student of the neo-classical painter François-Édouard Picot (1786-1868), Frédéric de Courcy exhibited historical paintings at the Paris Salon from 1861 to 1865. Member of the Société des Artistes français, he exhibited from 1866 onwards enamels executed mainly after works of Gustave Moreau (1836-1898) of whom he was a close friend (Oedipe et le Sphynx after M. Gustave Moreau, enamel, 1867 or La Chasse after a watercolor by M. G. Moreau; enamel - 1868). This interest in enamel work determined the next stage of his career: he joined the Manufacture de Sèvres where he taught ceramics and directed research on translucent enamel for over thirty years. The subjects of his works are part of the troubadour trend so popular at the time. In the reference work he published in 1868, L'Art de l'émail, Claudius Popelin describes this artist enthusiastically: "Frédéric de Courcy has made a name for himself with remarkable works executed after the cartoons of my friend Gustave Moreau. If I speak of Mr. de Courcy here, it is not only because I like him, but also because I know that he has all that is needed to shine with his own light and that, like others, he is not forced to be a reflection" (p.24).