Charles Raoul Verlet (1857-1923) - Lot 87

Charles Raoul Verlet (1857-1923) La Douleur d'Orphée Model created in 1887; Barbedienne edition from 1891 Bronze with brown patina Signed "Raoul Verlet Bears the founder's mark "F. BARBEDIENNE. Fondeur" and stamped "REDUCTION MECANIQUE A. COLLAS". H. 99 cm A pupil of Jules Cavelier and Louis-Ernest Barrias, Raoul Verlet presented his plaster model of Orphée, now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, at the 1887 Salon. It was a great success and won the Prix du Salon. The critics praised the "elegance and unity of the conception", the harmony of the profiles, the beauty of the movement, the mastery in the rendering of the musculature, all of which give the drama its strength and power. The whole of Orpheus rises up in a painful impulse, Cerberus at his feet, his lyre on the ground. His face expresses Eurydice's loss without exaggeration. The eurythmy of the work offers the viewer not an expressive, dramatic cry of pain, but the beautiful lament of Orpheus's song. This sculpture marked a decisive turning point in Verlet's career, enabling him to win numerous commissions for monuments. Related works -Charles Raoul Verlet, La Douleur d'Orphée, 1887, plaster, H. 259 x W. 105 x D. 98 cm, Paris, Petit Palais, inv. PPS58 ; -Raoul Verlet, La douleur d'Orphée, bronze, signed "Raoul Verlet, inscribed "F.Barbedienne Fondeur" and stamped "Réduction A.Collas", H. 63 ; W. 27 ; D. 27, Angoulême, musée des beaux-arts, inv. 992.12.1 Related literature -Florence Rionnet, Les Bronzes Barbedienne, l'œuvre d'une dynastie de fondeurs (1834-1954), Paris, Arthena, 2016, model listed under Cat. no. 1213, pp. 395-396.