A FRENCH BRONZE FIGURE ENTITLED 'AMOUR BLESSE'

Like the original marble version of L'Amour Blesse, which was exhibited at the 1874 salon, the present bronze is life-size. The subject is drawn from Carpeaux's son, Charles-Jean-Louis, who suffered a fall and dislocated his elbow whilst holidaying during the summer of 1873. As his mother comforted the child, Carpeaux was struck by the tenderness of the scene, which he interpreted by modeling a Cherubic boy with a tear rolling down his cheek. The Propriété stamp indicates that the present bronze was issued posthumously by the Carpeaux family and therefore predates 1914 when Susse Frères purchased the exclusive rights to Carpeaux's models and subsequently cast a smaller (50 cm.) reduction of L'Amour Blesse.