Lot 4: - Jacques Jaquet , Belgian 1828-1899 seated nude bronze, dark brown patina

signed: Jaquet and inscribed: C ANONYME DES BRONZES à BRUXELLES bronze, dark brown patina

measurements note 134cm., 52¾in.

Jacques Jaquet studied sculpture under Louis Jéhottte at the Brussels Academy. He collaborated closely with his brother, the sculptor Joseph Jaquet, even signing his works in the same way. Jacques gained an international reputation in the 1850s as his prize-winning figure of a Boy with a Spinning Top toured Europe and was exhibited at the Great Exhibitions of London and Paris.

From 1860 to 1875 Jacques Jaquet worked on a series of nudes, including the highly acclaimed Girl by the river Lethe which won a gold medal when it was exhibited in marble at the Brussels Salon of 1863. The present bronze can most probably be identified with that model. The river Lethe was one of the rivers of Hades in Greek mythology. Its waters had the power to erase all memories. Jaquet's renowned handling of the nude is witnessed here: the girl's sinuous form delicately spirals as she rests on the river bank.

RELATED LITERATURE
Engelen-Marx, pp. 946-8