Joseph-Antoine Bernard (1866-1931) - Lot 123

Lot 123
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10000 - 15000 EUR
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Joseph-Antoine Bernard (1866-1931) - Lot 123
Joseph-Antoine Bernard (1866-1931) Immortal songs Bronze with dark brown patina Signed "J. Bernard" on the back of the head Bears the founder's stamp "CIRE PERDUE C.VALSUANI" and numbered "N°5" on the back of the head. H. 47 cm, with black Belgian marble base H. 18.5 cm This bronze head of a singer bears witness to Joseph Bernard's early interest in the theme of song. In 1904, he was working on a project for a monument to Beethoven that never saw the light of day. This work resulted in a group of three heads of young girls in plaster, which the artist entitled De l'aurore à l'Apothéose, maquette pour le Chant (From Dawn to Apotheosis, model for the Song), at his first solo exhibition organized by the publisher and foundryman Adrien Aurélien Hébrard (N°74 bis). Three heads, mouths open to varying degrees depending on the part being sung, are set on geometric bases arranged in tiers. The ensemble, also entitled "Chants immortels", was intended to symbolize communion with the infinite. Our work corresponds to the head placed in the upper part. It was subsequently produced in bronze and marble versions under the same title Chants immortels; two editions are known to exist, one by A.A.Hébrard as early as 1908 and the other by Valsuani from 1927. Related works: - Joseph Bernard, De l'aurore à l'Harmonie, 1906-1907, three plaster heads of the group, preserved at the Fonderie de Coubertin - Joseph Bernard, Chants immortels (the name given to our head), bronze, cast by A.A Hébrard, 1908, H.29.5 x 22 x 26 cm, 4 proofs listed; - Joseph Bernard, Chants immortels, 1908, Asian marble, Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse, Fondation de Coubertin; Related literature: - René Jullian, Joseph Bernard, Ed. Fondation de Coubertin, Saint-Rémy-les-Chevreuses, 1989; illus- tration showing the work from Aurore to apotheosis, n°118, p.291; - Catherine Chevillot, Paris, crucible for sculpture (1904-1914), vol III.Annexe, p.19.
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