GRÉGOIRE Jean Louis - Alsace, bronze bust by Grégoire.

Alsace, bronze bust by Grégoire.
Jean-Louis Grégoire (1840-1890) French artist and sculptor, born in Paris, attended Jean Samson's courses at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and exhibited regularly in the Salons. Specialist in mythological scenes, he produced several patriotic subjects after the defeat of 1870. In this context, he sculpts, among other things, this superb bust of a young girl in tears symbolizing the suffering of the lost Alsace. This patriotism, widely developed during political debates by Gambetta, a fervent opponent of the abandonment of Alsace, is a theme taken up by many artists of the time. The painting signed by Jean Jacques Henner, "L’Alsace, elle attend", one of the most significant works of this period, was even included in all the history books made available to middle school students. Grégoire produced this work in 1871 and presented a marble version of his "Alsace" in the salon of 1873 and a bronze version in the salon of 1874. Henri d'Orleans, Duke of Aumale, donated in 1897 an identical bust in terracotta at the Condé Chateau Museum in Chantilly.
Evoking the model of Henner, of which Castagny wrote in "the century" "She is sixteen, the age of the generation which must see the inevitable revenge complete". Grégoire chosen for model, a young girl with fine features but with a dreamy look, a discreet tear running down her cheek, leaving no ambiguity on the symbolism of the message to convey. Bronze, old cast iron, beautiful medal patina