Lot 73: A PAIR OF TERRACOTTA MODELLI OF ANGELS

BY LAURENT DELVAUX (1696-1778), CIRCA 1760 Both inscribed at the rear "Laur. Delvaux", one is preceeded by the initials "X (?) P". With heads lowered and hands crossed, kneeling on stylised clouds with small busts of winged cherubs. Wear to surface; the wings lacking; some minor chips and losses. 15 1/2 in. (39.5 cm.) high, each (2) PROVENANCE Edmund Fi‚vet (Fi‚vet) collection, Nivelles. Alfred Fi‚vet-Bricourt (Williame) collection, Nivelles. LITERATURE A.Jacobs, Laurent Delvaux 1696-1778, Paris, 1999. NOTES These two terracottas are the modelli for larger marble versions sculpted by Delvaux for the Convent des Soeurs de L'Assumption, Bruges (Jacobs, op.cit., pls. S210 - S214). The modelli demonstrate how Delvaux drew influences from other and earlier sources, such as his pair of marble angels in the Chapelle du Saint-Sang du Prieure de Bois-Signeur-Isaac of 1752 (Jacobs, op. cit., pls.S160a and b). Here he adapted the sullen beauty of the marble angels and modified their pose from an upright bow to one where they kneel on stylised clouds decorated with winged cherub busts. He improved upon the complexity of the drapery forms in the earlier models and created a harmonious blend between the suppleness of the human form and the thick rich folds of the material. These terracottas emphasise the ethereal quality of the angels, but seen with their wings detached they adopt an almost human quality that is humble and adoring. In essence these stylistic elements are all part of the Baroque vocabulary that Delvaux adopted during his stay in Rome between 1728 and 1732 and improved upon in later times. The cherub busts on the base of each model fit within this vocabulary as a homage to Duquesnoy, which is a very prominent theme in much of Delvaux's oeuvre.