Jean-Pierre Cortot

‘Le Soldat de Marathon Annonçant la Victoire’ (The Soldier of Marathon Announcing the Victory), Cast by Ferdinand Barbedienne

Франция, около 1880 года

£30,000

'Le Soldat de Marathon Annonçant la Victoire' (The Soldier of Marathon Announcing the Victory), Cast by Ferdinand Barbedienne from the model by Jean Pierre...

Размеры

Height: 96 cm (38 in)
Width: 107 cm (43 in)
Глубина: 39 см (16 дюймов)
REF NO : B71666

Описание

‘Le Soldat de Marathon Annonçant la Victoire’ (The Soldier of Marathon Announcing the Victory), Cast by Ferdinand Barbedienne from the model by Jean Pierre Cortot.

A large and finely cast patinated bronze figure of Pheidippides of Marathon, the near-naked soldier messenger, holds aloft a palm frond symbolizing victory in his left hand. He is seated on a draped cloak, shield, and sword. The naturalistic oval base is inscribed at the front with SOLDAT SPARTIATE and at the reverse with F. BARBEDIENNE. FONDEUR, along with the circular Réduction Mécanique/A. Collas stamp. The piece exhibits a rich brown patination.

The plaster model first exhibited at the Salon in 1822.
The marble version, completed in 1834, commissioned by King Louis-Philippe in 1831.
The present bronze edition was cast as a limited series by the Barbedienne Foundry, circa 1880.

Франция, около 1880 года.

 

The epitome of stoicism and the classical ideal, “Le Soldat de Marathon Annonçant la Victoire” was first presented by Cortot as a plaster model at the Salon of 1822 and is now conserved at the Musée municipal de Semur-en-Auxois.

Jean-Pierre Cortot (1787-1843) The Soldier of Marathon, 1822 Plaster, Semur-en-Auxois, Musée Photo : Didier Rykner, Public Domain.

In 1831, Louis-Philippe, newly crowned, commissioned a marble version from Cortot for the state. This piece was part of a series of commissions celebrating the triumphs of antiquity and heroic figures renowned for their courage, devotion to patriotic or civic duty, and stoicism. Notable examples include Philopoemen by David d’Angers and Cato of Utica by Jean-Baptiste Roman, both now housed in the Louvre. Exhibited at the Salon of 1834, Cortot’s marble was initially placed in the Tuileries Gardens as a pendant to James Pradier’s Prometheus. It iwas added the Louvre’s permanent collection in Paris in 1877 (Inv. No. LP243).

 

Jean-Pierre Cortot (1787-1843), ‘Le Soldat de Marathon annonçant la victoire’, Marble 1834. (inv No. LP243), Photo (C) Musée du Louvre, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Pierre Philibert. Public Domain.

A popular and symbolic sculpture, its fame was amplified in the late 19th century when it was reproduced in bronze as a limited edition by Ferdinand Barbedienne in four sizes. The present example being the largest of these editions.

The Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE marked a pivotal Greek victory over the Persians. According to legend, the soldier Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to deliver news of the triumph, shouting “Nike!” (“Victory!”) before collapsing and dying from exhaustion. Earlier, Pheidippides is also said to have run nearly 150 miles from Athens to Sparta in just two days to seek aid against the Persian invasion. This legendary feat immortalized him as a heroic messenger in Greek history and inspired the modern marathon race.

Despite being outnumbered, Greek forces led by Miltiades secured a decisive victory by launching a bold attack on the retreating Persian army. This victory became the foundation of the enduring tale of the soldier of Marathon.

Cortot captures this historic moment, portraying the soldier as he collapses, raising the palm of victory in a gesture of pride and resolve. This embodiment of courage and patriotism reflects Cortot’s mastery of academic classicism.

The representation of Pheidippides as an athletic male nude, emphasizing stoic heroism and idealized form, draws from a rich tradition of classical art in which Cortot was deeply versed. The pose of the figure, with its raised arm, evokes Johan Tobias Sergel’s Dying Othryades, a study exhibited as Sergel’s admission piece to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris in 1779.

 

Othryades the Spartan, Dying, by Johan Tobias Sergel, c. 1740-1814.Image Public Domain. Sergel presented a plaster piece Othryades the Spartan for admission to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris, January 1779.

The restrained expression of the soldier, contrasting with the dramatic narrative, reflects Cortot’s commitment to classical ideals and echoes the Hellenistic marble head of the Dying Alexander in the Uffizi collection, Florence.

 

‘Alessandro Magno morente’, Hellenistic Marble Head of The Dying Alexander. Source Wikipedia.

A heroic depiction of sacrifice, and a celebration of antiquity and the classical ideal, Cortot’s masterpiece was to become an iconic sculpture in the 19th century, inspiring later interpretations like Pradier’s 1852 Soldier of Marathon (Private Collection).  Bronze editions by Barbedienne can be found in anumber of important museum collections including a rare large size (the same as the sculpture we offer) in the  Redwood Library, Newport, Rhode Island, USA (Acc. No. SCU. 013) and a smaller edition in the Louvre (RF 388) acquired in 1881.

A Barbedienne cast of the ‘Soldier of Marathon’, of identical size, in the collection of Redwood Library, Newport, Rhode Island, USA (Acc. No. SCU. 013, Gift of Mrs. George S. Scott Photo © Laure de Margerie, public domain.

Дата

Около 1880 года

Происхождение

Франция

Средний

Патинированная бронза

Подпись

Inscribed 'SOLDAT SPARTIATE' and 'F. BARBEDIENNE FOUNDEUR'.

Jean-Pierre Cortot

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867), Portrait de Jean-Pierre Cortot, sculpteur (1787-1843), 1815, Paris, musée du Louvre.

Jean-Pierre Cortot (1787-1843) frequented the studio of Charles Bridan from circa 1800 while also working for notable sculptors such as Louis Boizot, Baron Lemot, Jean-Guillaume Moitte, Claude Ramey, and Philippe-Laurent Roland. In 1809 Cortot surpassed François Rude to win the prestigious Grand Prix de Sculpture at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris with his sculpture Marius Meditating on the Ruins of Carthage.

From 1810 to 1813, Cortot resided at the Villa Medici as a member of the Académie de France in Rome, where he met painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. Extending his stay by five years, he was commissioned by Vivant Denon in 1812 to create a colossal statue of Napoleon I. However, this project was abandoned after the fall of the Empire and replaced with a statue of Louis XVIII.

Cortot was an active participant in two artist societies formed at the Académie de France in Rome: the “Grand Malheur” society and “La Cipolla,” which he co-founded in 1818 with Louis Petitot and Jean-Baptiste Roman.

Upon returning to Paris, Cortot exhibited at the Salon until 1840. His marble works, ‘Narcissus’ and ‘Pandora’, presented in 1819, won him the Salon’s Grand Prix. In 1822, his plaster of The Soldier of Marathon Announcing Victory solidified his reputation, and the State commissioned its marble version.

Elected to the Institute in 1825, Cortot became a professor at the École Royale des Beaux-Arts in January 1826, succeeding Charles Dupaty. He held this position until his death in 1843, after which Charles-François Lebœuf succeeded him. Among his students was the sculptor Pierre Louis Rouillard. Celebrated during the Restoration and the July Monarchy, Cortot experienced a particularly productive period from 1830 onward. He was promoted to officer of the Legion of Honour in 1841.

Cortot’s work, characterized by an austere neoclassical style rooted in late 18th-century classical and Greco-Roman traditions, spanned mythological, religious, and modern historical subjects, often on a grand scale. In his later years, his art showed subtle influences of romanticism.

Jean-Pierre Cortot is buried in Paris at Père-Lachaise Cemetery.

Литература

Bresc-Bautier, Geneviève ; Pingeot, Anne, ‘Sculptures des jardins du Louvre, du Carrousel et des Tuileries’, 2, Paris, 1986, p. 100-102, n° 86.

Site du Musée du Louvre, Paris, Catalogue Entry (https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010091260), accessed 18th Novemvber 2024).

French Sculpture Census, entry for Barbedienne’s Bronze cast of Jean-Pierre Cortot’s ‘Le Soldat de Marathon annonçant la victoire’ at the Redwood Library, Newport, Rhode Island, (https://www.frenchsculpture.org/index.php/Detail/objects/37036/lang/fr_FR), accessed 18th November 2024.

Benezit, ‘Dictionnaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs’.

Pierre Kjellberg, ‘Les bronzes de XIXe siècle’, Les editions des amateurs.

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