Philippe Poitevin - "la Source", Original Terracotta Signed And Dated 1860

Beautiful original terracotta sculpture entitled "La Source", signed by the French sculptor Philippe Poitevin and dated 1860. A naked woman is leaning on a fountain. A large jar is placed under the mouth of the dolphin-shaped fountain to collect the water. Philippe Poitevin is a sculptor from the region of Marseille, born in 1831. Pupil of Joseph Marius Ramus and Armand Toussaint, he started at the Salon of 1855. He is particularly known for having made busts. He regularly receives public commissions: groups of children for the Palais Longchamp in Marseille, bronze medallions for the Museum of Natural History, groups for the Museum of Fine Arts in Marseille. In 1854, he was hired to restore the friezes of the Palais des Tuileries in Paris. In 1856, he was hired to make 85 stone sculptures for the Lesdiguières Pavilion at the Louvre Palace.