Weeping willow slate bas-relief

Bas-relief of romantic inspiration.
Carved slate.
19th century.

The subject represented by this carved slate is reminiscent of the counter-revolutionary engravings of the end of the 18th century, which were revived during the Restoration. Indeed, these seditious images presented the same iconography of the weeping willow whose branches land on an urn. These representations were intended to mourn the death of the royal family, whose portraits were hidden in the foliage of the tree.
Our relief takes up this vocabulary of nostalgia, the foreground pansy reinforces this melancholic dimension. In addition, the use of slate as a sculptural medium is unusual, as this high-contrast material plays with the light and adds depth to the bas-relief.