Attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire

Pair of candlesticks. Empire, ca. 1810. Attributed to PIERRE-PHILIPPE THOMIRE (1751-1843).
Gilded and patinated bronze.
Measurements: 114.5 x 42 x 42 cm. each.

Pair of candlesticks of great size and exquisite workmanship. Both for their high artistic level and in the style of transition between neoclassicism and the Empire in which they are inscribed, these bronze pieces respond to a work very close to that of the great French bronze artist Pierre-Philippe Thomire. On a triangular base with concave sides rises an elegant shaft that combines its fluted center in patinated bronze with bases and capitals in gilded bronze. Ten lights crown the structure, by means of lampshades that finish off curved arms in the form of cornucopias. Scrolls, rosettes and scrolls sheathe the arms and elements of embossed cresting complete the decoration. Grecas of vegetal elements in relief alternate with chiseled friezes. The capital is of Corinthian inspiration, but its hybridism responds to the free appropriation of orders and styles from other periods. This pair of chandeliers echoes a style of transition from neoclassicism to the exuberance of the Empire style, when the most renowned bronze artists such as Thomire incorporated into their 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 in the late 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.