Lot 44: Augustin-Jean Moreau-Vauthier , French 1831 -1893 Fortuna bronze, light brown patina

signed MOREAU-VAUTHIER / 1878 and inscribed F. BARBEDIENNE. fondeur PARIS, numbered 59 and with the A. Collas Reduction Mechanique seal. bronze, light brown patina

measurements height 4 ft. 3 1/2 in. alternate measurements 131.5 cm

The sculptor Moreau-Vauthier was known as a skilled ivory carver and collaborated with Jean-Léon Gérôme on the celebrated Danseuse à la Pomme (please see lot 232 in the present sale). He began exhibiting at the Salon in 1857 and presented the present model in bronze in 1879. The model was so successful that Barbedienne edited it in four sizes, of which the present lot is the largest.