Lot 603: Mark Matveevich Antokolsky, 1843-1902 , Mephistopheles bronze, green/brown patina

signed Antocolsky in Latin, with F. Barbedienne Foundry mark bronze, green/brown patina

height: 87 by 42cm., 34 1/4 by 16 1/2in

Mark Matveevich Antokolsky (1845-1902) was one of the most talented sculptors to come out of Russia. In about 1888, one Paris correspondent of The Times wrote that even French sculptors would benefit by studying under him, and learning from him the power of the inspiration drawn from the study of nature. Antokolsky was best known for his historical bronze subjects, of which Mephistopehles is an excellent example. Antokolsky was born in Vilna, present day Vilnius, Lithuania and studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts, Moscow from 1862-1868. From 1868 he lived and worked in Germany, Italy and France. He sculpted Mephisteopheles in Paris in 1884 which proved to be a very productive period, other works from his Paris years include Spinoza (1881), Yarolslav the Wise (1889), Nestor the Chronicler (1889) and Yermak Timofeevich (1891).
The marble original of Mephisteopheles is currently in the collection of the State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.