Félicie de FAUVEAU (1801–1886), - Lot 594

Félicie de FAUVEAU (1801–1886), Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Model created between 1843 and 1845. White marble statue. Signed “F de Fauveau,” surmounted by the rampant lion from the sculptor’s motto, on the right side of the rock Inscribed “Scta Elisabeth Ungariae” on the left side of the rock Height: 66.5 cm Length: 22.5 cm Depth: 46 cm Provenance: - Probably commissioned by Mrs. Trotter in 1843 and acquired by Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Berry in 1845 directly from the artist; - Collection of Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Berry, Vendramin Calergi Palace, Grand Canal, Venice; - Subsequently sold from her collection in Paris by Maître Pillet at the Hôtel Drouot from May 8 to 13, 1865, lot no. 6; - Collection in Saint-Malo, late 1970s, - By inheritance Related works: - Félicie de Fauveau, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, 1846, marble, height 85 cm, inscribed “Fel de Fauveau,” Saint Petersburg, The Peterhof State Museum – Reserve; - Félicie de Fauveau, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, 1851, white marble, dim. 50.8 × 38.1 × 22.9 cm, Art Institute of Chicago, inv. no. 2014.1064 Bibliography: -Catalog of Works of Art and Curiosities from the Vandramini Palace in Venice Belonging to the Duchess of Berry, Drouot, May 8–13, 1865, no. 6; -Félicie de Fauveau. "The Amazon of Sculpture," exhibition catalog: Les Lucs-sur-Boulogne, Historial de Vendée, Paris, Musée d’Orsay, 2013, pp. 208–211 and entry no. 36, pp. 330–331, cited in related work. Related literature: -Baron de Coubertin, “Mademoiselle de Fauveau,” in *Gazette des Beaux-Arts*, 1887, vol. XXXV, 2nd series, pp. 512–521; -Silvia Mascalchi, *Félicie de Fauveau: A Romantic Sculptor from Paris to Florence*, Florence: Leo S. Olschki, 2012; pp. 55–75. Signed by the hand of the most famous female sculptor of the Romantic School, Félicie de Fauveau, this marble sculpture of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary had been missing since the late 19th century. A magnificent example of the “troubadour” style of this incorruptible, committed artist—devoted to her faith and to the monarchy— the work proudly embodies the spirit of Romanticism, the celebration of female heroism, and the influence of medieval art that characterize the sculptor’s finest works. After taking part in the Vendée uprisings of 1832 in support of the elder branch of the Bourbons alongside the Duchess of Berry and the Countess de la Rochejacquelein, the sculptor settled in Florence for a voluntary and permanent exile. The city’s great artistic wealth resonated with her aesthetic ideal, rooted in Christian medieval and Renaissance art. In her spacious studio, she created, in collaboration with her brother Hippolyte, a large number of works—tombs and portraits, medallions and jewelry, holy water fonts and statues of saints—for wealthy patrons who shared her political views. The location, which was very fashionable, was mentioned in all the tourist guides; there she received the European elite visiting the Grand Dukes of Tuscany. This figure, titled “Saint Elizabeth of Hungary” in Latin, is part of her corpus of triumphant saints, alongside Saint Genevieve (1841), Saint Dorothea, and Saint Reparata (circa 1855). As with other devotional statues, the artist created two versions of this work on commission. There is every reason to believe that this version is the first, resulting from a commission initiated in 1843 by Madame Trotter, an English Protestant friend of the artist. She specifically requested a sculptural depiction of the most famous scene from the legend of Saint Elizabeth (1297–1231): the miracle of the transformation of loaves of bread into roses. The sculptor, who spent two years conceiving the subject, depicted the wife of the Landgrave of Thuringia dressed in 13th-century fashion, at the very moment she is caught by her husband. The saint, who was leaving the castle with her cloak filled with food to secretly distribute it to the poor, risked being caught “red-handed.” Here, however, there is no food in sight. The small loaves have already transformed into flowers scattered across the sloping rock, and the pouch formed by the fold of her cloak is empty. Moreover, the drapery takes on the surprising and voluminous shape of a basin, suggesting that the sculpture may have originally served as a holy water font—a form the artist particularly favored. Her correspondence also indicates that Madame Trotter died before the work was completed in 1845. In April of that year, her friend the Duchess of Berry—who had already commissioned her portrait in 1840 (marble, height 60 cm, Detroit Institute of Arts), visited her half-sister, Marie-Antoinette of Bourbon-Sicily, the wife of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. The Duchess of Berry seemed to take pleasure in acting as an intermediary for the count