Charles-Auguste Lebourg
Charles-Auguste Lebourg | |
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Wallace fountains | |
Patron(s) | Richard Wallace |
Charles-Auguste Lebourg (20 February 1829 – February 1906) was a
Life
Lebourg was born in
Lebourg's bronze work, Enfant nègre jouant avec un lézard ("Negro child playing with a lizard"), debuted at the Paris Salon of 1853, and won honorable mention at the city's
Following the
Lebourg entered his work at salons in Nantes in 1872 and 1886, and in Rennes in 1887.[6] His final entry at the Paris Salon was in 1904.[3] He died in poverty in Paris in February 1906.[7]
Works
Lebourg is best known for the Wallace fountains, which can be found throughout the world. More than 100 of the fountains are scattered throughout France, mostly in Paris, but also in Nantes, Bordeaux, and several other French cities.[6] At least six fountains are found in Uruguayan capital of Montevideo. Five Wallace fountains were erected in Lisburn, in Northern Ireland, though three of these were destroyed for scrap metal during World War II.[8]
Wallace stipulated that the designs of the fountains follow several guidelines. First, the fountains should be tall enough to be visible from afar, but not so tall as to affect the harmony of the immediate landscape. The fountains had to be both easy to use and pleasing to the eye, and affordable enough to allow the maximum number to be installed. The materials used to build the fountains needed to be weather resistant and easy to maintain.[9]
The larger fountains stand 2.71 metres (8.9 ft), and consist of an octagonal pedestal topped with four unique caryatids– representing kindness, simplicity, charity and sobriety– supporting a dome decorated with dolphins.[1][10] The design of this larger model was inspired by the Fontaine des Innocents in Paris,[10] while the caryatid figures may have been inspired by Renaissance sculptor Germain Pilon's Les trois grâces.[1] Some smaller models feature the head of a nymph to distribute water, and later models utilize columns rather than caryatids.[10]
Lebourg's other work can be found in buildings, parks and cemeteries in Paris and Nantes. His bronze equestrian statue of Joan of Arc stands in front of the Church of Saint Donatien and Saint Rogatien in Nantes.[7] Caryatids carved by Lebourg in 1865 still adorn the building at 17, rue de Chateaudun, in Paris.[5] Lebourg's statue of the Priestess of Eleusis is on display at the Fine Arts Museum in Nantes.[11] He provided one step in the monument to the 1870 defenders of Paris.[11] Lebourg created busts of numerous individuals, among them Lady Wallace (wife of Richard Wallace), Émile de Girardin, Auguste Comte, and Eugène Livet.[11]
Gallery
Wallace fountains
Other works
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Statue of Joan of Arc in Nantes
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Bust of Lady Wallace
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Statue at the Palace of Fontainebleau
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f Pierre Kjellberg, Bronzes of the nineteenth Century (Schiffer Publications, 1994), p. 418.
- ^ a b "Richard Wallace, Charles Lebourg : un philanthrope, un sculpteur Archived 2012-02-20 at the Wayback Machine." Retrieved: 4 February 2013. (in French)
- ^ a b The Athenaeum, 1906, p. 307. Retrieved: 4 February 2013.
- ^ Revue de Bretagne de Vendee and d'Anjou, Vol. 17 (O. de Gourcuff, 1897), p. 273n. Retrieved: 4 February 2013. (in French)
- ^ a b Charles-Auguste Lebourg, Sculpteur des Fontaines Wallace. Retrieved: 4 February 2013. (in French)
- ^ a b "Charles-Auguste Lebourg," Ville de Nantes espaces verts environnement. Retrieved: 5 February 2013. (in French).
- ^ a b Philippe Gambert, "Des fontaines et un sculpteur nantais," Maville.com. Retrieved: 4 February 2013. (in French)
- ^ Charles-Auguste Lebourg, Dictionary of Irish Architects, 1720–1940. Retrieved: 5 February 2013.
- ^ "Wallace Fountains: A Symbol of Paris," Paris Muse, 14 April 2011. Retrieved: 4 February 2013. (in French)
- ^ a b c "Création des fontaines Wallace Archived January 9, 2013, at the Wayback Machine." Retrieved: 4 February 2013. (in French)
- ^ a b c Philippe Landru, "Nantes: La médiatisation du patrimoine funéraire," 4 October 2010. Retrieved: 4 February 2013. (in French)
External links
- Charles-Auguste Lebourg in American public collections, on the French Sculpture Census website