Luca Madrassi
‘L’innocence Tourmentée Par L’amour’ – A Patinated Bronze Figural Group
£14,000
'L'innocence Tourmentée Par L'amour' - A Fine Patinated Bronze Figural Group by Luca Madrassi.Inscribed 'L.MADRASSI.PARIS'.With Gervais foundry...
Dimensions
Height: 62 cm (25 in)Diameter: 23 cm (10 in)
PrintDescription
‘L’innocence Tourmentée Par L’amour’ – A Fine Patinated Bronze Figural Group by Luca Madrassi.
Inscribed ‘L.MADRASSI.PARIS’.
With Gervais foundry cachet and stamped ‘MEDAILLE D’OR/EXPOSITION UNIVERSELLE DE 1900’.
This finely patinated bronze group depicts the figure of Innocence, finely cast with billowing drapery being tormented by two winged cherub figures emblematic of Cupid. The figure is raised on a brèche violette marble base.
French, Circa 1900.
The composition may be compared with Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse’s L’Innocence tourmentée par l’Amour, dated 1871, an example of which is in the collection of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels (inv. 11658). Madrassi had worked in Carrier-Belleuse’s studio, and the relationship between the two sculptors provides a pertinent context for this later interpretation of the subject. Madrassi’s bronze, produced around 1900, reflects his engagement with the Romantic figural tradition associated with his former master, while retaining the character of his own sculptural practice.
Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, L’Innocence tourmentée par l’Amour, 1871. Bronze, cast by the Compagnie des Bronzes, Brussels. Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, inv. 11658.
Date
Circa 1900
Origin
France
Medium
Patinated Bronze
Signature
Inscribed 'L.MADRASSI.PARIS'. With Gervais foundry cachet and stamped 'MEDAILLE D'OR/EXPOSITION UNIVERSELLE DE 1900'.
Born in Tricesimo, Italy in 1848, Madrassi began his art studies in Rome before studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, under the famous master Pierre-Jules Cavelier.
Madrassi joined the studio of the famous sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse’s (1824-1887) and later Antoine Bourdelle (1861-1929); both of which had great influence on the playful romantic quality of his work. He also assisted the Scottish sculptor Lord Ronald Gower (1845-1916). Known primarily for busts and statuettes his work is typically defined by an imaginative and sensitive interpretation of allegorical themes.
Madrassi exhibited frequently at the Salon of the Société des Artistes Francais from 1879 onwards, obtaining an honourable mention on several occasions (1881 , 1882 , 1883 and 1885) and a third-class medal in 1896. In 1890 he finally obtained French nationality and became a full member of the Société des Artistes Français. He also exhibited at the Salon of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1896.
Bibliography:
Berman, Harold. Bronzes, Sculptors and Founders 1800-1930, Abage, (Chicago), 1980; Vols. 1-4.
Kjellberg, Pierre. Les Bronzes du XIX siècle, Dictionnaire des Sculpteurs, Les Editions de l’Amateur, (Paris), 1989.
