Following Falconet models

Following models of ETIENNE-MAURICE FALCONET (Paris, 1716-1791).
"The Three Graces".
Gilt metal.
Signed "Falconet, 1766" on the base.
Presents faults and breakage on the back and on the back of a figure.
Measurements: 66 x 24 x 27 cm.

This sculptural group represents the Three Graces. The artist, follower of Falconet, looks for dynamism and rhythm obtained from the juxtaposition of dynamic and moving forms, all of them arranged in a balanced and studied composition, vibrant and eloquent.

After working as a carpenter's apprentice and because his wax figures attracted the attention of the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, he became his disciple. Falconet became a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in the French capital in 1754, and attracted the attention of the public at the Salons of 1755 and 1757 with two marbles that are now in the Louvre. He was appointed director of the sculpture workshop of the Sèvres Factory, where he gave new life to small sculptures in soft white porcelain. The "putti" he created for use as decorative elements at the table became so famous that the idea of decorative figurines for banquets spread throughout the European porcelain factories. Among his subject matter, he was influenced by the painter François Boucher as well as by the ballets and plays contemporary to Falconet. He is known for the patronage of Madame de Pompadour, but he is also called in 1766 by Catherine II of Russia, the Great. He returned to Paris in 1788, where he was appointed director of the Academy of Fine Arts. His work is known and highly appreciated for the perfect combination of Rococo aesthetics and classicism. The French Revolution destroyed most of his religious works, but many others remain in private collections around the world, in the Louvre, the Rijksmuseum, etc.