Style Other / Ref.14967

Jean-Charles CHABRIÉ, Vendetta, Salon of 1888

This marble bas-relief entitled “Vendetta” was created by Jean-Charles Chabrié before 1888.

The painter and sculptor Jean-Charles Chabrié (1842-1897) was a student of François Jouffroy for sculpture (which he practiced as his primary art form) and Vincent Chevilliard for painting. He exhibited regularly at the Salon between 1868 and 1888 and was awarded a prize in 1870 for his plaster work Rêverie d’Enfant (1874, marble at the Museum of Picardie in Amiens), which reflects his fondness for childlike themes.

Vendetta is a bas-relief framed within an integrated structure. At its center, a putto is suspended from a hook by a ribbon that passes under its arms and ties at the front, unfolding in an elegant movement. Its wrists are also bound by cords attached to nails. The putto holds a rose in its right hand. On the ground lie a discarded bow and arrows; the quiver is secured with a ribbon that unfurls to display the letters of the title. The work is signed at the bottom right.

Chabrié plays here with the contrast between the chosen theme and the way it is depicted. A vendetta typically refers to a personal revenge that often ends in violence or even murder, yet here it is an innocent and dejected-looking putto being punished. It might symbolize Love, defeated by an unhappy lover, as suggested by the bow and arrows on the ground and the rose in its hand. The use of tied ribbons adds a sense of softness and charm, further emphasized by the presence of a flower and a dragonfly in low relief in the background.

This low-relief was exhibited at the Salon of 1888 under entry number 3896.