Masquerade - Jean-Joseph Jaquet (1822 - 1898)

Marble bust representing a beautiful woman with her head resting on her right shoulder and her head covered with a Venetian mask. Pearls decorate her hair, while a necklace and earrings highlight her face and neck.
The artist has paid particular attention to the mask, the details of which are impressive, hence the title of the sculpture.
The playful expression and finesse with which practically all elements of dress and headdress were elaborated eloquently illustrate both the sculptor’s talent and the satisfaction he must have felt as he eternalized his model.
The same representation of this Mascarade was executed in bronze. This version (1857) was practically identical to the marble sculpture.

The Belgian sculptor Jean-Joseph Jaquet (Antwerp 1822 - Schaarbeek 1898)

Jean-Joseph Jaquet (Antwerp 1822 - Schaarbeek 1898) is a belgian sculptor. The considerable output of this authoritative artist was in part due to Jean-Joseph Jaquet’s collaboration with his younger brother Jacques Jaquet (1830-1899). Nearly every genre appears in his practice, each one bearing witness to immaculate craftsmanship.
Jean-Joseph first studied at the Academy of Antwerp with Willem Geefs (1805-1883). As a practitioner he worked for a fair period with that master. Jaquet exhibited the initial fruits of his own invention and abilities in Brussels in 1842: some busts and two biblically inspired compositions The Rescue of Moses and a Meditating Saint Paul.
The success he earned continued until 1845 when he stepped into the limelight with no less than eleven sculptures. Among them was his design for a statue of the chronicler Jean Froissard (c. 1337- after 1404), a work that was solemnly unveiled in 1848 on the square that has carried the name of that world-renowned personality of the Middle Ages ever since. This immediately established Jaquet’s name as a sculptor and for thirty years all manner of official commissions would come his way. As if he had sensed the need for very good staff very early on, Jaquet founded an open studio of his own,
where emerging young talented artists could find a place for a while. Some of the artists later became great sculptors such as : Thomas Vinçotte (1850-1925), Paul Dubois (1859-1938), Guillaume Charlier (1854-1928), Egide Rombaux (1865-1942) and Jules Lagae (1862-1931) who benefited from this workplace whilst providing their assistance.
In 1852 the brothers Jaquet realized the monumental sculptures Joseph and Mary for the church of Molenbeek Saint-Jean. Shortly afterwards in 1854 an order of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Brussels led to the delivery of a large marble sculpture De Gouden Tijd (The Golden Age) which is considered to be Jean-Joseph’s masterpiece.
Major commissions came from the Netherlands. In 1864 in Amsterdam, he was invited to produce the decoration for the Het Paleis voor Volksvlijt (Palace of Popular Diligence). In 1869 he realized for the city The Hague nothing less than the National Dutch Monument.
In the meantime, the busy sculptor had been appointed professor at the Brussels Academy, which led to further portrait commissions. Interesting to note is the bust of the world-famous singer La Malibran (1808-1836) who died so tragically and the portrait of the painter Pierre-Louis Kuhnen (1812-1877) with whom the brothers Jaquet lived for a considerable time. For the city of Mons Jean-Joseph realized in 1869 the equestrian statue of Baldwin of Constantinople. After that, for many years, his time was occupied by his work on the Bourse building in Brussels. He sculpted the monumental fronton and chiseled the oversized stone lions that are posted before the main façade (starting in 1872). One of the highlights of Jaquet’s career is undoubtedly the memorial he sculpted in bronze for Louise-Marie, the first Belgian queen. The artwork still adorns the spot in Philippeville today where it was unveiled in 1879.
With all those official commissions one could forget to pause before his own creations that Jean-Joseph exhibited at significant exhibitions. Extremely successful were the sculptures such as Cain and Abel, The Deluge, Cupid disarmed, Devotion, and The Poachers. The artist found inspiration in history, the bible, and in mythology. He was also able to handle the idiom of allegories: Hospitality, Winter, and others.
The multi-faceted nature of this sculptor with tremendous drive stands in stark contrast to the very limited presence of his work in Belgian museum collections.