Exceptional pair of 19th century monumental bluestone lions. Belgium around

Made by Edouard François Marchant (Antwerp 1813 –1873). Signed E. Marchant.

Started out as a painter before concentrating on sculpture.
Édouard Marchant studied painting under Matthijs van Bree and was later encouraged towards sculting by Van den Ven who led him to study under Guillaume Geefs in Brussels.
In 1836 he made an instructional tour in Paris after which he established in Brussels and married Johanna Willems (1837), niece of his master G. Geefs.
He took part in the restauration of the Brussels City Hall and was responsible for the decorative reliefs of the Maes Chapel in the St Michael Cathedral. In 1859 he built a 5m high confessional for the Lanark church in Scotland.

BENEZIT E. Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs. Nouvelle édition. Librairie Gründ, 1976. 10 volumes, Tome7 p164.PIRON Paul. Dictionnaire des artistes plasticiens de Belgique des XIXe et XXe siècles. Editions Art in Belgium, Ohain-Lasne, 2003, 2 volumes, Tome2 p126.

Provenance:
The lions originate from a neo classical Brussels mansion from 1843 at the corner of the Rue de la Loi and the Rue de Froissart. It was demolishe in the 1950’s and relocated to the Rue de la Régence 35 until the 1980’s.

Source: Brussels-Capital Region, Architectural Heritage Inventory.