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Just Becquet (French, 1829 – 1907)
A Life-Size Statuary Marble Figure, Entitled ‘La Voix du Violoncelle’
POA
A Life-Size Statuary Marble Figure, Entitled ‘La Voix du Violoncelle’ (‘The Voice of the Cello’), By Just Becquet (French, 1829 – 1907) Signed...
Dimensions
Height: 162 cm (64 in)Width: 90 cm (36 in)
Depth: 54 cm (22 in)
Weight: 280 kg
PrintDescription
A Life-Size Statuary Marble Figure, Entitled ‘La Voix du Violoncelle’ (‘The Voice of the Cello’), By Just Becquet (French, 1829 – 1907)
Signed ‘JUST BECQUET’.
France, Circa 1893.
The voice of the cello is symbolised by a life-size young woman who sings as she plays. Sculpted with great delicacy, the figure was described by a contemporary commentator as appearing to have been caressed by a chisel enamoured with classical beauty. The masterful observation of pose and posture is matched by supreme technical virtuosity in the carving of both the figure and the cello, executed from a single block of marble.
‘La Voix Du Violoncelle’ as illustrated in ‘La sculpture moderne : les grands maitres au XIXe siècle, Paris, 1896, pl. 22.
Becquet was the last pupil of François Rude, and this work invited much comparison between master and pupil. Its powerful interpretation of nature reveals the essence of Rude’s genius, a secret he revealed only to a select few disciples. Recorded at the Paris Salon of 1893 under number 2555, the sculpture was shown again, as a work of French national importance, at the 1900 Paris Exposition universelle.
“The idea, first of all, is of rare delicacy in its arrangement and not without audacity in its naïve simplicity. Great mastery was required in execution to give such naturalness to these charming arms holding the instrument in front of the naked body, for the ‘Voice of the cello’ is symbolised by a young woman who sings while accompanying herself, and whose nudity retains an aspect of the pure ideal while revealing the most charming forms.”
L’Entr’acte, 17 June 1893 (translated)
Becquet was himself an accomplished cellist, an enthusiast for the works of Beethoven, Schubert, Bach and other great composers. From humble beginnings, and despite the adulation of Rude, he was slow to find success. In his early years he could not afford marble and was obliged to model in clay, supplementing his income by playing the cello at the Théâtre Français.
‘Becquet. The Violocellist’, etching of Bequet in 1859 by his friend James McNeill Whistler. Bequet was an accomplished cellist and is shown holding between his legs a violoncello. Whistler’s etching shows Becquet in musical rather than sculptural occupation. (Freer Gallery of Art (1898.284)
Rude assured Becquet that he would become a great sculptor. Rude, whose populist style embodied the revolutionary spirit of Bonaparte’s First Empire, saw in Becquet a sculptor destined to define the Second Empire, yet Becquet’s natural reticence and independence prevented him from assuming such a role. Instead, he worked tirelessly to establish his reputation, achieving recognition only in the 1870s, when he was already over forty.
Born in the city of Besançon, bordering the Swiss mountains, Becquet first found success with a bust of a lady of that region: ‘Bonne femme de Franche-Comté’ (Salon de 1865, n° 2863). When at last he was discovered and lauded by the art establishment, his commissions came primarily from the French state rather than private collectors. He refused to authorise commercial editions or reductions of his works and consequently never enjoyed the financial rewards achieved by many of his more famous contemporaries. His quiet reticence stands in marked contrast to the showmanship of Rude’s other pupils, notably Carpeaux, Cordier and Frémiet, leaving Becquet something of an outsider and out of step with the commercialism of the ‘artistes de Salon’.
When important commissions for the Tuileries and the Musée du Luxembourg finally brought success, Becquet remained unfazed and unhurried. He moved to the secluded Vaugirard district and set up his studio in an isolated cabin at the end of a small garden. There was
“no luxury in this sanctuary where Becquet nurtured his masterpieces; not even the orderliness that can hinder the artist’s creative process in the heat of the moment. Plaster casts, moulds, clay fragments, jumbled together with tools, dust, and even spider webs, all testify to the master’s profound contempt for the refinements of comfort. It is in this rough environment that the master kneads the clay with skilful hands, unafraid of splashes; it is there that he moves, with his energetic and rugged face, like an old peasant from Franche-Comté.”
M. le Dr Limon, 1907, p.19 (abridged and translated)
‘La Voix Du Violoncelle’ as illustrated in M. le Dr Limon, ‘Just Becquet Sculpteur Bisontin’, 1908. pl. 1 bis.
Becquet worked without assistants, frequently reworking his compositions between modelling and completion, and sometimes took as long as ten years to complete a statue. Free from academic formula and indifferent to prevailing taste, he forged a singular and deeply personal sculptural language creating a unique and original place for himself in the world of contemporary sculpture. One can vividly imagine the solitary Becquet working tirelessly on this statue. In a letter of 1891, possibly referring to ‘La Voix du Violoncelle’, he wrote:
“I have begun another marble statue, with a view to an upcoming exhibition. The very high costs of the sculpture are causing me great difficulty and much trouble, and my personal resources are very modest.”
Letter of 15 October 1891, cited in op. cit. Mickaël Zito, p. 24 (translated)
The catalogue of the 2019 Just Becquet exhibition at the Musée des beaux-arts de Besançon records ‘La Voix du Violoncelle’ as being of unknown location. The catalogue raisonné notes that the politician Charles Beauquier unsuccessfully petitioned the French state to acquire it. A period photograph shows the sculpture in Becquet’s studio; it is not known whether it remained there after his death in 1907. Single and childless, Becquet left his estate to his sister Anne and his niece Marie. A letter from his sister dated 1908 mentions several major sculptures remaining in his Vaugirard studio, though it is unknown whether this work was among them.
As shown in Bequet’s studio, date unknown (courtesy Musée des beaux-arts et d’archéologie, Besançon).
The sculpture resurfaced in 1986 with an antiquaire in Beaune, France, who sold it to an American collector.
The ‘Voice of the Cello’ is widely regarded as Becquet’s lost masterpiece, completed at the height of his powers and deeply personal in subject. Of all his celebrated works in museums and public collections, it was an image of this sculpture that accompanied his obituary. Held in a private collection for the past forty years, its rediscovery is of considerable importance.
Exhibited:
Paris Salon, 1893 (n° 2555).
Salon des artistes Comtois, 1898.
Exposition universelle, 1900 (n° 39).
Date
Circa 1893
Origin
France
Medium
statuary marble
Signature
Signed ‘JUST BECQUET’.
The statue:
Height : 162 cm | 64 inches
Width : 90 cm | 35 inches
Depth : 54 cm | 21 inches
Weight : 280 kg | 617 lbs
The pedestal:
Height : 71 cm | 28 inches
Width : 50 cm | 20 inches
Depth : 50 cm | 20 inches
Just Becquet, sculptor 1829-1907 [print] / Photo: Teulet, [Place of publication unknown]: Teulet, [1800-1899]
Just André François Becquet, was born in Besançon (Doubs) on 17 June 1829. He was the son of a goldsmith and studied humanities at the Besançon lycée, culminating in a baccalaureate in philosophy. From a young age he drew well and was musical. Becquet would gladly recount that, as a child, he would remove the fresh putty with which the glaziers sealed their panes, and mould “little men” from it. He attended the Municipal School of Fine Arts where his talent was spotted the sculptor Jules Franceshci. Franceschi was also from Besançon and was a student of François Rude (1784-1855), and saw in Becquet a natural aptitude for sculpture. Becquet left for Paris with no other support than his mother’s wishes, and spent a year of constant work as a pupil of Rude. During his apprenticeship, Becquet would supplement his income as a cellist at the Théâtre Français. When Rude closed his studio in 1851, his other pupils went to work for David d’Angers but Becquet chose to continue alone. Remaining exclusively faithful to the cult of his master, he would seek only Rude’s guidance. This early independence of spirit would characterise his career. Alone, almost without friends and wholly devoted to his art, he tackled the difficulties of his craft and refined his taste.
Rude thought that Becquet showed great promise. He visited, gave advice and made a great impression on this nascent talent. As time passed, commercial success was not forthcoming, and Becquet’s family worried but were reassured by Rude, who said “Your son will one day be a great sculptor”. Becquet made his debut at the Salon of 1853 and soon after exhibited two important works in plaster, ‘A Faun Playing with a Panther’ and ‘Saint Sebastian’. In 1864 his ‘Christ on the Cross’ was honoured at the Salon but in spite of these successes, as the age of 35, Becquet was not wealthy. Unable to afford marble, he was reduced to modelling in clay. He was sufficiently discouraged to seek employment in the office of a stockbroker.
In the late 1850s, he became a friend of American painter James McNeill Whistler during his bohemian days in Paris. In 1859, Whistler etched a portrait of Becquet holding the cello. The Whistler Journal recalls: “Becquet was a man loved by his friends, but he was unsuccessful, unrecognized. He lived in his studio where there was nothing but disorder and his ‘cello, for he was a great musician. […] He lived by playing in an orchestra at some theatre. Sarah Bernhardt saw him once as he played, was struck by his beauty, asked who he was, and sent for him to come to her dressing-room. But he would not hear of it—he would have nothing to do with that! And there was a story of a composer who asked Becquet to play his music; at first Becquet said no, then he consented, and the composer wept as he listened, and the two embraced. (E. R. & J. Pennell, The Whistler Journal, Philadelphia, 1921, pp. 90-91).
In 1865 he was finally able to afford a block of marble and carved a bust of ‘The Woman of Franche-Comté’ (n° 2863). It was shown again at the Exposition universelle of 1900 (n° 1474). In 1869 ‘The Grape Harvester’ (n° 3243) earned him a medal and it was commissioned in marble by the state for the Tuileries Gardens. The marble version is probably that exhibition at the Salon in 1886 (n° 3489) with the title ‘Apologie de la vigne française’. In 1870, ‘Ishmael’, received great praise, and was also commissioned in marble for Musée du Luxembourg and shown in 1877 (n° 3591) and at the Exposition universelle of 1878 (n° 1098).
Thereafter he was a regular exhibitor at the Salon, but he worked without haste, with great attention to detail and completely disinterested in the whims of fancy. This success stimulated a re-appreciation worthy of Rude’s best pupil, with Becquet’s earlier works now receiving the attention they deserved. He was now able to carve in marble his earlier statues of ‘A Faun Playing with a Panther’, ‘Saint Sebastian’ and ‘Christ on the Cross’. All were re-exhibited at the Salon and entered the national collection. Several other works of his are in the museums of Besançon, Rouen, Tours, and Saint-Brieuc.
In 1888, Becquet exhibited the plaster bust of his mentor François Rude, which was commissioned in marble by the state and later displayed in the Louvre Museum’s gallery of portraits of the masters. Becquet was a good musician, an enthusiast for the works of Beethoven, Schubert, Bach and other great composers. In 1895 he made a statue entitled ‘La Voix du Violencelle’ (a standing female nude playing the cello) which was also shown at the 1900 Paris Exposition universelle.
In all, Becquet won medals at the Salons of 1869 and 1870, a first medal in 1877, a second at the Exposition universelle of 1878, a silver medal at the Exposition universelle of 1889, a gold medal at the Exposition universelle of 1900, and finally the Medal of Honour at the Salon of 1904. Appointed Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1878, he was promoted to Officer of the same order in 1898.
Of himself, he said “I work for posterity”. Never did a man seek fame and fortune less. He always refused to allow any of his works to be reproduced for commercial purposes. He would spend ten years on a figure and did not use an assistant to complete his work; he wanted to work the marble himself until he was satisfied. Often, he revisited subjects he had previously treated with a fresh perspective. He did not hesitate to modify a finished model if he saw a movement to change.
Becquet, the last surviving member of Rude’s studio, always worked according to his master’s methods and remained faithful to his teachings until the end. He was a hardworking and conscientious artist. Becquet was also remembered as an excellent musician, practising the cello for two hours every day and played alongside great concert musicians. He died in Paris, at 27 rue de la Procession, at the beginning of March 1907, and was buried in Besançon, his birthplace.
“One would find in vain, in the history of contemporary Paris, a simpler life, a more modest and upright temperament than that of Just Becquet. From the beginning of his career, he had made his art a lofty ideal which he followed without deviating from it until his last day. Inaccessible to the contingencies of life, he lived only for and through his work. He found his income in state commissions, which were rather poorly paid, in the rare monuments erected by public subscriptions, and in busts of contemporaries, which were even rarer, barely enough to cover the costs of his work as a sculptor and ensure a frugal existence. For nearly thirty years, he even had to resort to his considerable talent as a cellist to meet part of his material needs; for a long time, he was seen holding his place in the orchestra of the Théâtre Français, demanding from the musician’s bow the resources that the sculptor’s hand could not. His modesty was content with the successes that the superiority of his talent earned him with the general public. His conversation, devoid of bitterness, revolves around his works, whose genesis he likes to recount, and his revered master, “Monsieur Rude.” which he always evokes with emotion, in sculpture and in music, which he cultivates with equal passion. He speaks philosophically.” (Abridged and translated from M. le Dr Limon, ‘Just Becquet Sculpteur Bisontin’, Séance publique du 19 décembre 1907, pp. 15-27. Mémories de la Société d’Émulation du Doubs, Besançon, 1907).
Bibliography:
Mickaël Zito, Le geste sûr. Just Becquet (1829-1907), un sculpteur Bisontin, Exhibition Catalogue, 29 June to 13 October, 2019, Besançon, Musée des beaux-arts et d’archéologie, Silvana Editoriale. 2019
Sold by an antiquaire in Beaune, France, to an American Collector, 1986.
Private Collection until acquired by Adrian Alan, 2025.
Exhibited:
Paris Salon, 1893 (n° 2555).
Salon des artistes Comtois, 1898.
Exposition universelle, 1900 (n° 39).
Mickaël Zito, Le geste sûr. Just Becquet (1829-1907), un sculpteur Bisontin, Exhibition Catalogue, 29 June to 13 October, 2019, Besançon, Musée des beaux-arts et d’archéologie, Silvana Editoriale. 2019, no. 120, p. 134 and fig. 11, p. 24.
O. Merson, Salon de 1893 Société des artistes français, Société nationale des beaux-arts, Paris, 1893, p. 94 “la Voix du violoncelle, charmante figure de M. Becquet”.
Salon de 1893, Société des artistes français pour l’exposition des beaux-arts de 1893, 111e exposition, Paris, p. 230, n° 2555.
L’Entr’acte : journal des théâtres et des salons, Paris, Salon de 1893, XXII, Sculpture, Saturday 17 June 1893.
La sculpture moderne : les grands maitres au XIXe siècle, Paris, 1896, pl. 22 (illustrated).
Exposition Internationale Universelle de 1900, Catalogue général official, Tome Second, Group II Oeuvres d’Art, Classes 7 à 10, Paris, (La Voix du violoncelle ; statue marbre. n° 39).
Catalogue officiel illustré de l’Exposition décennale des beaux arts de 1889 à 1900 (Exposition universelle internationale de 1900) Paris, (39. La Voix du violoncelle), p. 265.
M. le Dr Limon, ‘Just Becquet Sculpteur Bisontin’, Séance publique du 19 décembre 1907, pp. 15-27. Mémories de la Société d’Émulation du Doubs, Besançon, 1908. pl. 1 bis (illustrated).
