Venus (Bather) Bronze Figurine
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Research by Jacqueline Arundel and Marjorie Gregson
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Acc No ?
Artist Christophe-Gabriel Allegrain Artist dates 1710-1795 Medium Bronze Size Height 87.6 cm (34.5 in) overall Date produced Late 19th century Inscr: signed 'ALLEGRAIN' to base Donor Mr & Mrs Aaron Harris Garden Street, St Annes on Sea 'in commemoration of the present mayoralty' Date donated 27 January 1947 |
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THE BRONZE
French, green-patinated bronze figure of Venus, cast after a model by Christophe-Gabriel Allegrain. The figure is standing, semi-naked, on a Siena marble plinth with her left foot resting on a rock, her right foot dipping into water and her hair, tied with a foliate garland, falling about her shoulders. Although previously thought to be Diana, research has revealed that this figure is more likely to be Allegrain’s Bather, also called Venus; the original marble, 1767, size: H 1.74 m, W 0.62 m, D 0.675 m, is in the Louvre, Paris. 
Allegrain's Bather
Allegrain's Diana
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The work that launched the sculptor
This work launched the career of a hitherto unknown artist. Diderot writing in May 1768 to his friend, the sculptor Étienne-Maurice Falconet, declared, "Well, that Allegrain, whom I'd never heard of, has just done a bathing Venus that has the admiration of even the masters of art". In 1755, before awarding this royal commission to Allegrain, the Marquis of Marigny, Director of the King's Buildings, had sought the advice of Charles-Nicolas Cochin, engraver, keeper of the king's cabinet of drawings, and historio-grapher of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, who exerted great influence in artistic politics. The latter had to admit that the only known work by the artist was Narcissus, his admission piece for the Académie. Allegrain was nevertheless given the commission, no doubt owing to the influence of his brother-in-law, Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, the most famous sculptor under Louis XV. However, he was delivered a faulty block of marble, full of veins and bluish marks. The plaster, shown at the 1747 Salon, aroused little attention, but ten years later the marble created a sensation. Antique proportions and naturalistic sensuality The figure, whose proportions were praised by a critic of the time, exudes simplicity and naturalness; the distinctive qualities of antique statuary. Yet Allegrain's Venus does not explicitly refer to any antique model, although it does have the serpentine fluidity of the works of Giambologna (1529-1608), an Italian sculptor of Flemish origin who had greatly influenced European sculpture. In particular it has affinities with the "Bather Placing Her Foot on a Perfume Vase," a 17th-century bronze copy of which is in the Musée de la Chartreuse, Douai - notably the figure's sinuous contours, lowered shoulder, small breasts and very elaborate plaited hairstyle (which Allegrain improves upon). Yet he is not sculpting the firm, idealised body of a goddess but the carnal reality of a woman. She has folds on her stomach, hips and arms. The pose of the head, facial expression and the refinement of the hairstyle exude sensual charm. There is a faint smile on her face and a twinkle in the slightly contracted left eye. The forward-leaning head is very daring, considering the fragility of marble. Allegrain created a "bridge" of hair between head and back to support and counterbalance it, and in so doing combined beautiful details and overall clarity. |
THE ARTIST
This French neo-classical sculptor was born in Paris to a family of artists. His grandfather, Etienne Allegrain (1644-1736), and his father, Gabriel Allegrain (1679-1748), were classical landscape artists. His uncle, Jean-Baptiste Allegrain (c1644-1714), and Christophe-Gabriel’s own son, Gabriel Allegrain (c1733-1779), were both sculptors.
A pupil of Martin, an ornamental sculptor, he owed his advancement to his brother-in-law, Jean Baptiste Pigalle, who generously helped him in the execution of his work. Allegrain’s early career was dominated by this relationship as he collaborated with Pigalle on several monuments. He seems to have been slow to develop and be recognised.
His first appearance at the Salon was in 1747 with a plaster Narcissus, of which the marble became his reception piece at the Academie in 1751. “This piece, once attributed to Pigalle, has a sleepy charm typical of Allegrain at his best.”
Allegrain’s most famous work, Venus at the Bath (also known as The Bather or La Baigneuse), commissioned in 1756 and completed in 1767, was his sole Court commission, apart from the lost Batteuse de buerre, executed in stone for Madame de Pomadour’s dairy at Crecy. Louis XV gave Venus to Madame du Barry, who placed it in the garden of her Chateau de Louveciennes. After the king’s death she commissioned from Allegrain a pendant bather of practically the same subject, Diana surprised by Actaeon, which was also placed in her landscaped garden. Both are now in the Louvre: the pieces remain popular and are often reproduced - "As Venus and Diane they provided an allegory of Du Barry’s past sensual love and her present chaste condition".
REFERENCES
www.augustastylianougallery.com
www.wga.hu
www.tuttartpitturascuturapoesiamusica.com
Levey, Michael, "Painting and Sculpture in France 1700-1789”
Beaulieau, Michele, (1955), Une etude de Allegrain pour la Venus au bain, BSHAF, pp59-62
Diderot, Denis, (1995), Ruines et paysage, Salon de 1767, Paris, Editions Hermann, pp483-5
Louvre, (2015), Diderot et l'art de Boucher cat. exp. Paris, Hotel de la Monnaie, 1984-1985, Paris, 1984, pp436-439,
available online http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/bather-also-called-venus
This French neo-classical sculptor was born in Paris to a family of artists. His grandfather, Etienne Allegrain (1644-1736), and his father, Gabriel Allegrain (1679-1748), were classical landscape artists. His uncle, Jean-Baptiste Allegrain (c1644-1714), and Christophe-Gabriel’s own son, Gabriel Allegrain (c1733-1779), were both sculptors.
A pupil of Martin, an ornamental sculptor, he owed his advancement to his brother-in-law, Jean Baptiste Pigalle, who generously helped him in the execution of his work. Allegrain’s early career was dominated by this relationship as he collaborated with Pigalle on several monuments. He seems to have been slow to develop and be recognised.
His first appearance at the Salon was in 1747 with a plaster Narcissus, of which the marble became his reception piece at the Academie in 1751. “This piece, once attributed to Pigalle, has a sleepy charm typical of Allegrain at his best.”
Allegrain’s most famous work, Venus at the Bath (also known as The Bather or La Baigneuse), commissioned in 1756 and completed in 1767, was his sole Court commission, apart from the lost Batteuse de buerre, executed in stone for Madame de Pomadour’s dairy at Crecy. Louis XV gave Venus to Madame du Barry, who placed it in the garden of her Chateau de Louveciennes. After the king’s death she commissioned from Allegrain a pendant bather of practically the same subject, Diana surprised by Actaeon, which was also placed in her landscaped garden. Both are now in the Louvre: the pieces remain popular and are often reproduced - "As Venus and Diane they provided an allegory of Du Barry’s past sensual love and her present chaste condition".
REFERENCES
www.augustastylianougallery.com
www.wga.hu
www.tuttartpitturascuturapoesiamusica.com
Levey, Michael, "Painting and Sculpture in France 1700-1789”
Beaulieau, Michele, (1955), Une etude de Allegrain pour la Venus au bain, BSHAF, pp59-62
Diderot, Denis, (1995), Ruines et paysage, Salon de 1767, Paris, Editions Hermann, pp483-5
Louvre, (2015), Diderot et l'art de Boucher cat. exp. Paris, Hotel de la Monnaie, 1984-1985, Paris, 1984, pp436-439,
available online http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/bather-also-called-venus
