"louis XVIII King Of France And Navarre" In Patinated Bronze Dated 1816 Early 19th Century

Important bust of Louis XVIII King of France and Navarre in bronze with green patina by d'Eon dated 1816 after a model by François-Joseph Bosio. Louis XVIII is represented dressed in his military costume consisting of a frock coat with large epaulettes delicately chiselled from the royal crown, surrounded by the cord of the Order of the Holy Spirit. We will notice three plaques on the frock coat, the first corresponding to the Order of the Holy Spirit (French order of chivalry), the second to the Order of the Garter (British order of chivalry) and the third corresponding to the Order of Saint Andrew (Russian honorary order). At the beginning of 1814 the British and Russians gave him their support for the return of the monarchy in France. The bust rests on a pedestal titled in the upper part "Louis of his subjects the father and the king". Under the sculpture is an inscription: "executed for the town of Béthune by d'Eon bronze sculptor Paris in the year 1816". The bust that we present was made according to the model of the famous sculptor François-Joseph Bosio executed in 1814. It was presented at the salon of painting and sculpture in November 1814 in Paris under the number 1420 and mentioned in the contemporary article as being "the only one admitted by the King". If the original bust presented at the show is not known with certainty due to the absence of mention of the material in the exhibition catalog, the model does not however disappear and is used to create two well-referenced marble busts, including the one commissioned from Bosio in 1816 by the City of Chalon-sur-Saône (Chalon-sur-Saône museum, Inv. No. S011) as proof of the City Council's dedication and attachment to the King. Our bronze bust was probably made to commemorate the loyalty of the City of Béthune: the flight of the King via Béthune, on March 24, 1815, to reach Ghent, is just as famous as Louis XVI's flight from Varennes. Here the sculptor from Eon used the official model to fulfill his order. Related works: -François-Joseph Bosio, Louis XVIII, circa 1814, bronze bust, Carnavalet museum, n° Inv. S819 -François-Joseph Bosio, Louis XVIII, circa 1816, marble bust, Brussels Museum of Fine Arts, n°Inv. 4 -François-Joseph Bosio, Louis XVIII, circa 1816, marble bust, Chalon sur Saône museum, n°Inv. S011 Possibility of being sold on request with the Scagliola sheath in imitation of sea green marble from the first third of the 19th century.