Nature Unveiling in front of Science - Louis-Ernest Barrias (1841-1905)

Bronze sculpture with triple patina, old-gilt, light brown and dark brown patina.
cast by SUSSE
raised on an onyx base

The model of this statue was commissioned in 1889 to decorate the new medical school in Bordeaux. When he had finished the first version in white marble for the school, Barrias designed a second marble and onyx statue in 1899 for the ceremonial staircase of the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers in Paris.

France
circa 1900
height 27,6 cm

Biography :
Louis-Ernest Barrias (1841-1905) was a French sculptor . He came from a family of artists. His father was a porcelain painter and his older brother, Felix-Joseph Barrias, a recognized painter. Louis-Ernest Barrias entered the School of Fine Arts in Paris in 1858, he abandoned painting to move towards sculpture under the direction of François Jouffroy. In 1864, he won the Prix de Rome, on the theme of "The Foundation of Marseille", and was engaged on the site of the Paris Opera house. He later produced many sculpted works, most of them in marble.

In 1881, Louis-Ernest Barrias was awarded a medal of honor of the fine arts and named knight of the Legion of Honor in 1878, then promoted officer in 1881 and commander in 1900. The artist replaced Auguste Dumont at the Institute in 1884, then succeeded Jules Cavelier as a professor at the School of Fine Arts, where, among his most notable students, there were Victor Ségoffin, Charles Despiau and Paul Landowski.