Lot 125: - Emile Gaudissard , French 1872-1956 A grand prix racing car (an allegory of victory and progress) bronze, dark brown patina modulated with green

signed: Em. Gaudissard. Paris - 1909. and inscribed H. GONOT. FONDEUR. PARIS . bronze, dark brown patina modulated with green

measurements note 71 by 78 by 39cm., 28 by 30¾ by 15½in.

This extraordinary depiction of an early Grand Prix racing car combines two distinct allegorical messages. The first and foremost is represented by the draped female nude, who points the way forward while offering the laurels of victory to the driver and his mechanic. The second is conveyed by a relief to the rear of the composition, depicting a horse drawn carriage. The contrast between the two modes of transport symbolises the advance of civilisation in an era of unprecedented technological progress. The bronze dates to 1909, just two years after the inaugural Grand Prix held at Le Mans on 27th June 1906.

Émile Gaudissard (or Gaudissart) was a multi-talented artist based in Paris who not only sculpted and painted but also designed art deco patterns for carpets and interiors for ocean-liners and modernist buildings such as the Théâtre de la Danse in Algiers (the town of his birth). His paintings are mostly of an Orientalist flavour depicting scenes of nomads, desert oases and kabyles. A bronze figure of a veiled Moroccan lady, for example, is in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris (inv.no.RF3854). Further works by Gaudissard can be found in the museum of Algiers.

The inscription on the present bronze confirms it was cast by the foundry of Gonot et Joret which operated between 1905 and 1911 as a direct successor to Henri Gonot, which was founded in 1900. The firm cast works for Rodin in 1906 and 1908.

RELATED LITERATURE
Lebon, pp.171-2; Musée d'Orsay, p. 162, Kjellberg, p. 348