Émile-Coriolan-Hippolyte Guillemin
A Large Orientalist Patinated-Bronze Figural Torchère
£38,000
A Large Orientalist Patinated-Bronze Figural Torchère, Entitled ‘Femme Indienne’, By Émile-Coriolan-Hippolyte Guillemin (French, 1841-1907)....
Dimensions
Height: 236 cm (93 in)
PrintDescription
A Large Orientalist Patinated-Bronze Figural Torchère, Entitled ‘Femme Indienne’, By Émile-Coriolan-Hippolyte Guillemin (French, 1841-1907). Cast By Ferdinand Barbedienne Foundry, Paris.
Signed ‘Ele. Guillemin 1872’ on the base with foundry inscription ‘F. BARBEDIENNE FONDEUR’.
On a pink granite pedestal.
France, Circa 1875.
‘Femme Indienne’ was sculpted by Émile Guillemin in 1872 and cast in bronze by Barbedienne who in 1875 offered it in four sizes measuring in height: reduction no. 1 (200 cm); no. 2 (120 cm); no. 3 (95 cm); no. 4 (78 cm).1 This is therefore an example of reduction no. 2, standing at 120 cm. high, plus the candelabrum.
Émile Guillemin was an Orientalist sculptor noted for his use of polychrome patination with applied silver, red and gold tones, employed to capture the exoticism of his subjects. ‘Femme Indienne’ was partnered with a companion figure titled ‘Femme Persane’. Also cast by the Barbedienne foundry were torchère figures by Guillemin titled ‘Deux Femmes Japonaises’ and ‘Deux femmes, Style Renaissance’. All were offered in Barbedienne’s sale catalogues between 1875 and 1905.
Such torchères were designed to illuminate an entranceway or staircase and noted examples include pairs of ‘Deux Femmes, Indienne et Persane’ which flanked the entrance of the Barbedienne family residence (sold Hôtel des Ventes, Enghien, 4 March 1984) and in the staircase hall at the Astor Mansion at Fifth Avenue & 65th Street, New York.2
Footnotes:
- F. Rionnet, Les Bronzes Barbedienne: L’oeuvre d’une dynastie de fondeurs, Paris, 2016, Cat. 1627 p. 448.
- https://www.garylawrance.com/blog/2020/9/10/john-jacob-astors-titanic-fifth-avenue-mansion
Date
Circa 1875
Origin
France
Medium
Patinated Bronze
Signature
Signed ‘Ele. Guillemin 1872’ on the base with foundry inscription ‘F. BARBEDIENNE FONDEUR’.
Total Height: 236 cm | 93 inches
Height of Figure including candelabra: 147 cm | 58 inches
Height of Bronze Figure 120 cm | 47 inches
Émile-Coriolan-Hippolyte Guillemin (1841- 1907) was born in Paris, he studied under his father, the painter Émile-Marie Guillemin, and was also a pupil of Salmson.
He made his debut at the Salon in 1870 with a pair of Roman gladiators, later winning a Honourable Mention for Sculpture in 1897.
Guillemin covered a wide range of subjects, but normally figurative (most commonly biblical figures, groups or portrait busts of his contemporaries), specialising in ethnographic works he was particularly renowned as a proponent of the Orientalist movement.
Bibliography:
Kjellberg, Pierre. Les Bronzes du XIX siècle, Dictionnaire des Sculpteurs, Les Editions de l’Amateur, (Paris), 1989; pps. 369-370.
F. Rionnet, Les Bronzes Barbedienne: L’oeuvre d’une dynastie de fondeurs, Paris, 2016, Cat. 1627 p. 448.
https://www.garylawrance.com/blog/2020/9/10/john-jacob-astors-titanic-fifth-avenue-mansion
