French school of the 19th century - Lot 197

French school of the 19th century Pygmalion and Galatea Terra cotta group. H: 38.3 cm. Terrace: 17 x 16 cm. While the subject of this beautiful terracotta group is eminently sculptural, since it refers to the legend of the sculptor Pygmalion falling in love with his sculpture, it received little attention in the 19th century. century. While we know the famous Falconet group sculpted at the end of the 18th century, the great names sculptors of the following generation do not seem to have been inspired by this theme from Greek Greek mythology. It was in Jean Léon Gérôme's 1890 painting that the subject came back to the forefront of the artistic scene. Our handsome, large-scale terracotta study, with its with its compact volumes, interlocking bodies and neo-classical faces, recalls the work of the rare the work of the rare sculptor Auguste Préault (1809-1879).