Lot 131: CHARLES VITAL-CORNU FRENCH, 1851-1927

signed: Vital Cornu

bronze, dark brown patina

A PORTRAIT BUST OF A PAINTER

55cm., 21 3/4 in.

Born in Paris, Vital-Cornu studied under Pils and Jouffroy and won numerous prizes at the Salons as well as a bronze and silver medal at the Expositions Universelles of 1889 and 1900 respectively. He specialised in decorative, allegorical and genre subjects which were cast by Siot-Decauville, Susse, Thiébaut and the Société des Bronzes de Paris. Kjellberg mentions a bust of Quentin Bauchard, a councillor for Villers-le-Sec, that could conceivably be identified with the present bust. Vital-Cornu's works can be found in the museums of Ajaccio, Grenoble, Lausanne and Valenciennes as well as Paris.

RELATED LITERATURE Kjellberg pp.645-6