Pierre-Jules Cavelier Figurative Sculptures

This is a precious little antique bronze sculpture by Pierre Jules Cavelier, originally exhibited at Salon in 1842 as Femme Grecque Edormie in plaster, was later exhibited in 1849 as...

French, 19th century bronze sculpture of Penelope waiting for Odysseus, probably cast by the Barbedienne foundry to a design by Pierre-Jules Cavalier, stamped to the rear 'J.Cavelier no. 167' and 'Reduction Meccanique'. This bronze depicts a sleeping Penelope...

This is a precious little antique bronze sculpture by Pierre Jules Cavelier, originally exhibited at Salon in 1842 as Femme Grecque Edormie in plaster, was later exhibited in 1849 as a marble sculpture under the title of Penelope. It was cast almost exclusively by the foundry of Ferdinand Barbedienne and is the only Cavelier sculpture to appear in their 1886 catalog in five reductions after the original. His works are quite scarce, only two sculptures being catalogued in Berman's extensive reference work (vol. III). The sculpture is a highly detailed sand cast example, expertly tooled and finished with a silver patina set against a rubbed bronze accent in the base and chair. The side of the seat is impressed with a seal typical of Cavelier, noting it as number 258. Pierre Jules Cavelier was born in August of 1814 and studied under both P. Delaroche and David D'Angers at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts after his entry in 1831. In 1836 he won second prize at the Prix de Rome for his model of Death of Socrates and with his sculpture of Diomedes Removing the Image of the Goddes Pallas Athene...