Description
Manufactory of the 19th century – after Étienne-Maurice Falconet (Paris 1716 – Paris 1791) – The Bather.
Full figure in plaster and terracotta.
On the plinth, the incised signature and date «Falconet 1764» and a blue manufactory mark with a crowned N.
The sculpture reproduces the celebrated subject of the Bather, conceived by Falconet in 1757 for the marble now held at the Musée du Louvre, a model that enjoyed wide popularity through numerous reductions and casts between the 19th and early 20th centuries. The female figure is shown testing the water with the tip of her foot while lifting the drapery resting on a rocky support, following the soft, sinuous compositional scheme of the original 18th-century work. The crowned N mark in blue, found on the output of several European manufactories between the late 19th and early 20th century producing “French taste” subjects in the Sèvres manner, accompanies the present example without constituting definitive attribution to a specific factory.
Condition report: Overall good condition, with traces of old staining and slight surface wear to the patina, consistent with the period of execution.
