Style Napoleon III / Ref.13315

Albert-Ernest CARRIER-BELLEUSE (1824 - 1887) « Allegory of Winter » bust in Carrara marble

This marble bust presenting an allegory of Winter was created by one of the most prolific sculptors of the Second Empire, Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse.

Mainly famous for being Auguste Rodin's (1840-1917) master, Carrier-Belleuse meets acknowledgment in 1863, when Napoléon III buys his Bacchant, now owned by the Musée d'Orsay. Starting from this date, the Emperor will grant him his full support until his reign's end. Even if he did realise lots of big marble groups, honoured during the Salons, it is his terra cotta busts which will bring fame to him. All along his career, he executes busts of his most famous contemporaries, as well as great historic figures, or fantasy busts inspired by the mythology, as it is for our bust.

Carrier-Belleuse represents here a young woman with her head down, hooded with a drapery. Some locks of hair escape from the hood and seem about to be blown away by the wind. Her clothes are adorned with a pine cone on the breasts. This piece of work is remarkable because of the delicacy of the execution, which can be particularly appreciated in the drapery's folds or in the strands of hair.

The allegory of Winter is part of an ensemble of busts produced by the artist, each bust depicting a season. Sometimes several versions of a season were created by Carrier-Belleuse, as for example the busts assimilated to an allegory of Autumn, with vine branches systematically used as an attribute. Same goes for the Spring, where roses seem to indicate the period of the year.