Pair Of Wax Bas-reliefs, Jules Franceschi 1870

Pair of wax bas-reliefs on a black marble or slate plaque. Dedicated to Monsieur XX (illegible) and signed Jules Franceschi. Circa 1870.
Very good condition. Modern frames in painted wood imitating marble.
Frames 65x45 cm.
Contrary to what one might think intuitively, wax is not an extremely fragile material and does not melt, unless exposed to a high temperature. Moreover, our pair of bas-reliefs is in excellent condition despite its 150 years.

Louis-Julien Franceschi, known as Jules Franceschi, was a French sculptor born in Bar-sur-Aube on January 11, 1825 and died in Paris on September 1, 1893.
Born into a family of Italian origin, Jules Franceschi was a student of François Rude. He made his debut at the Salon of 1848. He is responsible for many works, notably in Paris where he created La Pensée on the façade of the Opéra Garnier, La Peinture au jardin du Luxembourg, and the tomb of Miecislas Kamieński in the Montmartre cemetery. He is also responsible for certain sculptures in the Louvre Palace: Mars dans la Cour Carrée, L'Histoire sur l'aile de Flore, La Science du pavillon des États and the pediment of the pavillon de Flore1.
Two of his statues, Antoine-François Fourcroy and Marie-Thérèse Rodet Geoffrin, adorn the façades of the Hôtel de Ville in Paris.
He also executed busts of many of his contemporaries, including Jacques Offenbach (funeral monument in Paris at the Montmartre cemetery), Émile Augier, Eugène Delacroix, Charles Gounod and Victor Massé2.
Works in public collections:
Bust of Henri Rivière.
Paris:
Montmartre cemetery:
Tomb of Kamieński, 1861;
Jacques Offenbach, circa 1881.
Batignolles cemetery:
Bronze medallion by Alfred Chrétien, circa 1887-1888.
Saint François-Xavier church: Saint Paul, 1868.
Saint-Sulpice church: Saint Sulpice, 1867.
Luxembourg garden: La Peinture, 1889.
Louvre palace:
Mars, 1858, Cour carrée;
History, 1866, Flora wing;
Science, 1868, States Pavilion;
Pediment, 1871, Flora Pavilion.
Troyes, Museum of Fine Arts:
Faith, 1864;
Hébé, 1868;
Fortune, 1882;
Bust of Commander Henri Rivière, circa 1884, plaster;
Mr. Félix Bouchot, profile in medallion.