Allegory Of Loyalty - Jean-Louis Grégoire (1840-1890)

This large and absolutely gorgeous French bronze sculpture features a loving couple courting each other while holding a greyhound on a chain. Both of them have beautifully sculpted classical faces and they look at each other lovingly while holding hands. They’re standing on a wonderfully detailed terrace depicting the ground in the forest, with some leaves and branches and a waterside with water plants. The dog by their side can be interpreted as an allegorical symbol of loyal love.


The detail and mesmerizing beauty of this work of Jean-Louis Grégoire is exceptional. The sculpture carries the signature “L. Gregoire” on the terrace and the foundry mark “Susse F. GG” on the lower back. Susse Frères was a top bronze foundry in Paris, renowned for their high quality of the bronze casts they made.


This work is in an excellent state of preservation with its lively warm brown patina.


France, circa 1870.

Dimensions: 56 cm high, 40 cm wide and 19 cm deep.


Jean-Louis Grégoire (1840-1890)
Jean-Louis Grégoire, the son of a chiseler, was born in Paris on 15 December 1840. He trained under the celebrated sculptor Jean Jules Salmson at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and his work was first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1867. Grégoire is known for mythological and allegorical figural sculptures which were often classical in nature and commonly took war and music as their themes, typical of the Academic style in which he was trained. Many of his works have been cast in bronze by the famous foundry Susse Frères. Grégoire passed away in France in 1890.


Literature
- Pierre Kjellberg, “Bronzes of the 19th century”, p. 366-367.