ATTRIBUÉ À JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI (1725-1792) - photo 1
ATTRIBUÉ À JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI (1725-1792) - photo 2
ATTRIBUÉ À JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI (1725-1792) - photo 3
ATTRIBUÉ À JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI (1725-1792) - photo 4
ATTRIBUÉ À JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI (1725-1792) - photo 5
ATTRIBUÉ À JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI (1725-1792) - photo 6
ATTRIBUÉ À JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI (1725-1792) - photo 7
ATTRIBUÉ À JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI (1725-1792) - photo 8
ATTRIBUÉ À JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI (1725-1792) - photo 9
ATTRIBUÉ À JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI (1725-1792) - photo 10
ATTRIBUÉ À JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI (1725-1792) - photo 11
ATTRIBUÉ À JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI (1725-1792) - photo 12
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ATTRIBUÉ À JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI (1725-1792)

Lot 58
26.03.2025 15:00UTC +01:00
Classic
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CHRISTIE'S
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationFrance, Paris
ID 1390041
Lot 58 | ATTRIBUÉ À JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI (1725-1792)
Estimate value
€ 8 000 – 12 000
ATTRIBUÉ À JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI (1725-1792)
Vulcain présentant les armes d'Énée à Vénus
plâtre patiné à l'imitation de la terre cuite
H. 37,5 cm (14 ¾ in.)




Literature

Bibliographie comparative :
C. Navarra-Le Bihan , Jean-Jacques Caffieri (1725-1792), sculpteur du Roi, thèse, Bordeaux, 2006, pp. 508-601.



Further details

A PATINATED PLASTER FIGURE OF “VULCAN”, ATTRIBUTED TO JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI

Acquired in 1739 by Louis XV, the Château de Choisy was gifted to Madame de Pompadour in 1745. As a patron and benefactor of the arts, she engaged the most renowned contemporary artists in its decoration. The park saw various commissions, including one in 1764 by the Director General of Buildings, the Marquis de Marigny, who continued his late sister's project. The painter and academician Charles-Nicolas Cochin advised Marigny to enlist "Two sculptors of great talent and in their prime" (C. Navarra, p. 599), namely Jean-Baptiste Cyprien d’Huez and Jean-Jacques Caffieri. It was not until 1766 that the subjects of "Venus requesting arms for Aeneas" and "Vulcan presenting them" were chosen, attributed to each sculptor respectively. While the former completed his commission with a "small model" mentioned in 1773, Caffieri fell behind.

From a family of Italian sculptors established in France for two generations, Caffieri became Sculptor to the King in 1757 and was admitted to the Academy two years later. During this period, he responded to numerous simultaneous commissions, particularly for busts (P. Quinault, J.B. Lully, J.P. Rameau, A. Piron, C. A. Helvétius), a field in which he excelled. Having barely started his Vulcain, the sculptor proposed in 1773 to create another subject, already presented and praised at the Salon: L’Amitié surprise par l’Amour. This change was refused due to its high cost and the subject's lack of correspondence with d’Huez's nearly completed work.

The winter freeze of 1776 halted Caffieri's progress on Vulcain. His "large model" was destroyed by the extreme cold, and his colleague Charles Antoine Bridan was then entrusted with the project. Although Caffieri attributed this failure to the unsuitable subject, the true reason may have stemmed from a certain lack of motivation and an inability to execute large-scale works. As previously mentioned, the sculptor was highly skilled in busts and smaller formats but faced significant challenges with monumental pieces early in his career.

Despite the Château de Choisy commission never being delivered, Caffieri presented a preparatory sketch of Vulcain presenting arms to Venus at the 1779 Salon, documented in Cécile Navarra-Le Bihan's 2006 thesis. Although considered lost by historians, it is plausible that our present plaster is derived from it, or even that it is the same plaster, with the material incorrectly listed in the Salon catalog. Our hypothesis is supported by the rarity of the Vulcain subject, which, though prevalent in painting, is less common in sculpture. Additionally, the dynamic positioning of the legs in our plaster recalls his famous Molière (Paris, Louvre Museum, inv. ENT 1987.08) or Corneille (idem, inv. RF 3002), as well as the distinctive treatment of the eyebrow arch typical of Caffieri's portraits.

A major work in the career of this celebrated sculptor, our plaster may be the sole remaining evidence of this unfinished project, demonstrating Caffieri's exceptional ability to convey narrative through sculpture.
Applied technique:Pottery
Medium:Ceramic, Terracotta
Genre:Mythological painting
Auction house category:Sculptures, Statues & Figures
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