A cast plaster head of a girl,
cast by LASSCO in our Three Pigeons workshops,
£170
the mould for this cast has been taken from a plaster cast acquired by LASSCO. What appears to be the original sculpture went under the hammer at Sotheby’s Paris in the Tableaux Dessins Sculptures 1300-1900 sale of 30th June 2020. The catalogue notes for that piece reads as follows:
“During the period from the end of the 15th century to the beginning of the 16th century, the well-known historic province of Bourbonnais in the center of France, experienced an exceptional period of enrichment in the Arts thanks to the ducal patronage of Pierre II de Bourbon (1438-1488) and of his wife Anne de France, dit de Beaujeu (1461-1522). Bourbonnais sculpture is stylistically a combination of the Bourguignon style, the Languedoc style and the Franco-Flemish style.
Scholar of the famous Michel Colombe (1430-1513), Jean Guilhomet, known as Jean de Chartres (1465-1513) was the official sculptor of Anne of France. Active in Moulins, he is the author of the Annunciation decorating the Carmelite portal, and several statues in the Louvre, like his Saint Pierre and Saint Suzanne (inv.n° RF1160), probably made for the Saint-Pierre chapel of Chantelle castle.
The work we are presenting is very close to a ‘Head of a Young girl‘ in the Musée Anne-de-Beaujeu in Moulins, attributed to Jean de Chartres (inv. n° 1037). It can also be compared to his ‘Sainte Suzanne‘, another ‘Tête de Femme‘ (inv. n° RF2203), and in particular to the Virgin’s head in the group of the ‘Education de la Vierge par Sainte Anne’ (inv. n° RF1158), all in the Louvre museum. One can find a similar treatment of the face with a perfect oval shape, a large rounded and smooth forehead, almond shaped eyes and a small pouting mouth with fine lips.”
Related Literature
J. Boccador, La Statuaire médiévale en France de 1400 à 1530, T.II, Zoug (Suisse), 1974, pp. 69-70.
France 1500, entre Moyen Age et Renaissance, exh. cat. Paris, Grand Palais, 2010-2011, pp. 182-183.
J.-L. Champion, Mille sculptures des Musées de France, Paris, 1998, pp. 174, fig. 347.
La Sculpture Bourbonnaise entre Moyen Âge et Renaissance, exh. cat. Moulins, 2019, pp. 31-37.