A FRENCH WHITE MARBLE HALF PORTRAIT OF A LADY

Henri Weigele was born in the town of Schlierbach in the Haut Rhin region near the Swiss border on 20 September 1858. He studied in Paris under Jules Franchesi and developed a considerable reputation working in bronze and marble, producing figurative works of allegorical and classical subjects. Weigele exhibited at the Paris Salon, receiving an honourable mention in 1893, in 1902 he became a member of the Salon des Artistes Français and in 1907 was awarded a third class medal, in 1909 he received a second class medal. It is his classical subjects that were highly sought after, marble groups of classical figures, or his Athenian Woman now in the collection of the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. However, he was also a renowned sculptor in bronze, the Musée d'Orsay in Paris having his Alfred Chauchard (1821-1909) -founder of the Grands Magasins du Louvre and art lover- executed in 1910.