Bust of Alexandre Dumas the Younger (1824-95): M.6-2015

Titles

Bust of Alexandre Dumas the Younger (1824-95)

Maker(s)

Sculptor: Carpeaux, Jean-Baptiste

Entities

• Bust

Categories

• Sculpture

Description

Bronze bust of Alexandre Dumas the Younger (1824-95)

Notes

History note: The Dumas family cast.

Legal notes

Sir Ivor and Lady Batchelor Bequest through The Art Fund

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (2015-04-27) by Batchelor, Ivor, Sir and Lady

Dating

19th Century
Production date: after AD 1874 : Model: 1872. Present bronze cast at an unknown date after 1874

Note

Dumas was a French author and playwright. His most famous work is the romantic novel, The Lady of the Camellias, on which Verdi's famous opera, La Traviata, was based. Carpeaux and Dumas were close friends. The original plaster model of the bust was made in 1872 and a marble version carved in 1873. The marble was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1874 and then given by Dumas to the Comédie Française, the State-owned theatre in Paris, where it remains today. Carpeaux gave a plaster of the bust (together with a plaster bust of Dumas' wife) to Dumas as gifts (now Musée d'Orsay, Paris). As with other sculptures by Carpeaux, the bust of Dumas was reproduced as an edition in both bronze and terracotta in three different size: 82cm (the height of the original model), 66cm, and 47cm. The present bronze is an example of the smallest.

School or Style

French