Harlequin - Bronze By René De Saint-marceaux (1845-1915)

Important bronze sculpture representing Harlequin with its beautiful original brown patina, our character from the comedia del arte is represented firmly on his two legs, arms crossed and bat in hand, he rests on a base simulating a parquet floor. It is signed and dated St MARCEAVX 1879, bears the F. BARBEDIENNE Fondeur Paris mark and the Collas mechanical reduction stamp on the terrace. René or Charles-René de Paul de SAINT-MARCEAUX (1845-1915), born in Reims on September 23, 1845, died in Paris on April 23, 1915. son of champagne merchants in Reims, he prefers to devote himself to sculpture and between at the School of Fine Arts in Paris in the JOUFFROY studio. He began at the salon in 1868 and stayed several times in Italy. he was successful at the Salon of 1879 with Le Génie keeping the secret of the tomb then the Harlequin in 1880, however the work presented was the original in plaster, with more traces of black dirt due to the workshop of foundry which had repeated casting several times and had failed. He received numerous orders for statues and funeral monuments, including those of President Félix Faure and Alexandre Dumas fils. Medal of honor at the Salon of 1879, He was also a gold medal at the Universal Exhibition of 1889, received at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1905 and became Commander of the Legion of Honor in 1913.