Style Napoleon III / Ref.03130
Devils and Snakes andirons
Dimensions:
Width: 37'' ⅜ 95cm
Height: 9'' 23cm
Depth: 4'' ⅜ 11cm
Origin:
Patinated bronze andirons with small devils sitting cross-legged under their bat wings, their faces tilted is a playful yet diabolic grin making them almost human, which are linked together by two intertwined snakes.
The theme of the fallen angel, which these andirons evoke was a favorite of the Romantics. Symbolising man’s fallibility, Satan also represents the artist in his defiance of the Creator. Reminiscent of the decorative medieval gargoyle, the devils here share the same attributes : horned forehead, hook nose, pointed ears, clawed feet.
The composition is very alive, the patina enhances the muscular bodies of the little devils.
This andiron set is similar to the work of Feuchère, famous notably for his Satan presented at the Louvre, of which several copies are known all dated 1833.
The fashion for small bronzes developed in the 1830’s, when the market for limited editions of small statues flourished. Feuchère who was from a family of bronze smiths, was not obsessed by preserving his originals and contributed to popularizing them in many different ways. He worked a lot for the decorative arts, and combined his artistic work with functional objects, placing, for example, the statue from the Louvres on a clock, creating a pair of vases adorned with bats to flank it and create a mantel garniture.
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