HENRI-JOSEPH-FRANÇOIS, BARON DE TRIQUETI (FRENCH 1803-1874)
MOTHER AND CHILD
£117,700
Auction: 15 JANUARY 2025 FROM 10:00 GMT
Description
white marble, signed and dated 1857, on a rosewood and verde antica marble inset plinth
Dimensions
Marble 60.5cm wide, 72.5cm high, 13cm deep; plinth 78cm wide, 113cm high, 26cm deep
Footnote
Henri-Joseph-François de Triqueti was one of the foremost sculptors of the 19th century, and was highly regarded in his lifetime. Trained as a painter, by 1830 he focused primarily on sculpture where he found his greatest success, eventually securing patronage from King Louis-Philippe and becoming the official sculptor of the July Monarchy. After the Revolution of 1848 Triqueti relocated to England where he quickly was able to establish himself with new patrons and commissions, again with royal backing. One of his most celebrated pieces was the marble cenotaph of Prince Albert in the Wolsey Chapel at Windsor, who was a patron and admirer of Triqueti’s work.
Triqueti looked to Greco-Roman antiquity to re-invent the imago clipeata, or portrait on a round shield, developing the style to maximum effect with a dynamic interplay of positive and negative space contained within a deep concave format, as seen in the present lot. Here we see a tender moment between a mother and child, perhaps intended as a memorial, indicated by the lily which rises between them.