BRONZE "JEUNE FILLE A LA CHEVRE" OR "ESMERALDA" AFTER EDOUARD HOUSSIN (1847-1919)
Brown patina bronze sculpture of Esmeralda by Édouard Houssin. Esmeralda is one of the main characters in Victor Hugo's novel "Notre-Dame de Paris" (1831). A 16-year-old gypsy dancer, she dances and plays the tambourine in the streets of Paris, accompanied by her goat Djali. Early edition cast signed: "E. Houssin". The carpet is marked "PHOEBUS". In Hugo's novel, Phœbus de Châteaupers was a captain of the guard whom Esmeralda loved passionately. H. without base: 53 cm. Condition The bronze is in good overall condition, with a small accident to the tambourine, a few micro-scratches and slight age-related wear. The group is presented on a wooden base imitating Griotte red marble. The statue "Jeune fille à la chèvre", or "Esméralda" was created by Édouard Houssin (Douai, 1847-Paris, 1919) around 1880. The original in cast iron and bronze was first exhibited at the Salon des Artistes français in 1880, then at the Paris World's Fair in 1889. The work was deposited at the Jardin des Plantes in Douai in 1955. Born in Douai, Edouard Houssin was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris in 1866, where he studied with Henri Lemaire and François Jouffroy. He became a sculpture teacher at the École d'Art de Douai and regularly exhibited his work at the Salon, where he received several commendations and medals. Édouard Houssin carried out numerous public commissions, notably in northern France. He ended his career as a professor of modeling at the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres. Bibliography: Mona Lisa database.
Circa: 1890 Dim: W:21cm, D:21cm, H:60cm.
