19th CENTURY FRENCH SCHOOL after a model by Jean... Lot 25

19th CENTURY FRENCH SCHOOL after a model by Jean de Bologne, known as Giambologna (1529-1608) The Abduction of Dejanira by the Centaur Nessus Bronze with brown patina Height: 42 cm; Width: 29 cm (group) Height: 2.1 cm; Width: 31.8 cm; Depth: 14.4 cm (base) (Dejanire's right index finger damaged) Related work: - Jean de Bologne, Nessus enlevant Déjanire, bronze, signed "OA BOLONGIE", Bronze de la Couronne n°176, H. 42,1 x W. 30,5 cm, Paris, musée du Louvre, n°inv. OA 11896 ; The original model of this bronze group was executed by the famous Mannerist sculptor Giambologna, active at the Medici Court, for the Salviati family in Florence in 1575. Three known examples bear the artist's signature: the one in the Louvre, the second in Dresden and the last in the Huntington Art Gallery in California. Our copy derives directly from this prototype, whose originality lies in the movement of the figures: the tense bodies are oriented in opposite positions. The subject was a great success over the centuries, and was distributed by a succession of founders in Italy and France.