Following Thomire's models

Following models of PIERRE-PHILIPPE THOMIRE (Paris, 1751- 1843), XIX century.
Pair of morillos with sphinxes.
In gilded bronze and black patinated.
Measurements: 31 x 36 x 10 cm.

Sculptural bronze morillos: gilded on the pedestal, black patinated sphinxes. It is inspired by eighteenth-century models of the bronze sculptor Thomire. The pedestal rises on legs and has a waist with a careful decoration in relief based on masks, tendrils, flowers and bows. The sphinxes, worked in round, freely recreate Egyptian imagery, reflecting the Imperial taste for the hodgepodge of cultural references and the constant wink to periods and civilizations of great artistic splendor. In doing so, this pair of morillos echo the transition (visible in Thomire's late pieces) from neoclassicism to the exuberance of the Empire style, when he incorporated into his pieces decorative elements that reflected the opulence of the power of the Napoleonic regime.

Philippe Thomire was a French sculptor known, above all, for his work in gilded bronze, thanks to which he became the leading caster in France at the end of the 18th century, with an important workshop established in 1775. His career saw a surprising improvement when he began assisting Jean-Claude-Thomas Duplessis, the artistic director of the Manufacture de Porcelaine de Sèvres, and, when the latter died in 1783, Thomire continued his work, creating the bronze mounts for works that combined it with porcelain. Such was his success that he continued to work during the French Revolution. In 1804 he expanded the business by buying the workshop of a cabinetmaker, which allowed him to work with furniture. He worked for Napoleon and also did so after the fall of Napoleon, retiring at the age of 72 and, even then, continuing to create sculpture (he exhibited at the Salon de Paris). Claude Michallon was a French sculptor trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, a student of Charles-Antoine Bridan (1730-1805) and Guillaume Coustou. In 1785 he won the grand prize for sculpture with a bas-relief representing Brutus. He studied at the Académie de France in Rome for six years, until 1791. When he returned to Paris, he received commissions for colossal statues and won several prizes awarded by the Committee of Public Information. He competed for several projects in Paris. Claude Michallon presented his marble group d'Aconce et Cydippe at the Paris Salon in 1793, and created several models for watch cases, such as Cupid and Psychée. Among others, Pierre-Philippe Thomire cast bronzes closely following his models.