Mathurin Moreau (1822-1912) Allegory of Vanity Gilt Bronze

Finely chiseled and gilded bronze sculpture illustrating the allegory of vanity in the figure of a Venus looking at herself in a mirror. At his side a column on which is placed a mask.
Signed Moreau Math scpt. Second half of the 19th century, circa 1890.

Mathurin Moreau, born in Dijon on November 18, 1822 and died in Paris on February 14, 1912, was a French sculptor, renowned for his decorative sculptures.
He was admitted to the School of Fine Arts in Paris in 1841 in the workshops of Jules Ramey and Auguste Dumont2. He won the second Prix de Rome in 1842 with Diodème removing the Palladium. He made his debut at the Salon des artistes français in 1848 and stood out there with the statue L’Élégie.
He obtained a second class medal at the Universal Exhibition of 1855 in Paris, then a first class medal in 1878. In 1897, he was crowned with a medal of honor at the Salon2 of which he became a member of the jury during the Universal Exhibition of 1900 in Paris.
Between 1849 and 1879, Mathurin Moreau collaborated with the Val d’Osne art foundry and, as a shareholder, became one of its administrators, but, observes Pierre Kjellberg, “the reign of Napoleon III was also that of mantelpieces, and these hitherto very rare sets multiplied and often appeared in the catalogs of bronze publishers”: Mathurin Moreau’s Reader participated in this craze3. The artist also provided models to the Compagnie des bronzes de Bruxelles and exhibited at the Central Union of Fine Arts Applied to Industry in the 1880s.
He was named Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1865 and promoted to officer of the same order in 1885.
He died on February 14, 1912 in his home at 15, Passage du Montenegro in the 19th arrondissement of Paris.

Very good state of preservation, magnificent original gilding, minimal signs of wear. On a black marble base and scagliola imitation lapis.

Measures
H tot cm 61
H bronze cm 46
Base cm 22 x 16

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