Lot 53: HIPPOLYTE-ALEXANDRE-JULIEN MOULIN

HIPPOLYTE-ALEXANDRE-JULIEN MOULIN FRENCH 1832-1884 PORTRAIT BUST OF ANTOINE-LOUIS BARYE signed and dated: H. MOULIN 1875. inscribed: à la mémoire de mon maitre vénere and 25 and F. BARBEDIENNE, Fondeur. Paris and entitled: A-L. BARYE. bronze, dark brown patina 67cm., 26¼in.

Moulin's portrait of Antoine-Louis Barye was designed by to crown the sculptor's tomb at the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris, where it remains today. The present cast is the only other large bronze cast recorded, a smaller unsigned version is at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore. The model was exhibited at the Salon of 1876, where Barye was commemmorated a year after his death. Because it was to function as a tomb effigy the likeness of Barye is severe, serene and real. The truncation of the bronze, showing the subject's bare chest, is reminiscent of centuries of commemorative portrait busts. Both the quality of the bust and the inscription, A mon maître vénère, show that Moulin was indebted to his master despite his only brief stay at the famous animalier's workshop.

Because of his humble background and lack of financial backing Moulin was only able to enrol at the École des Beaux-Arts for one year. He followed this training with two short apprenticeships under Auguste Ottin and Antoine-Louis Barye. His first success came in 1864 when he exhibited his bronze Lucky find at Pompeii at the Salon. The popular model became much sought-after and Moulin's reputation was firmly established.

RELATED LITERATURE
P. Fusco & H. Janson, The Romantics to Rodin, ex. cat. Los Angeles County Musuem of Art, Los Angeles, 1980, p. 307-309, no. 171