Return to 19th-Century Still Lifes   Edouard Baldus - Monument to Henry II and Catherine De Medici Full Size Contact: Alex Novak and Marthe Smith Email: info@vintageworks.net Phone: +1-215-822-5662 Company: Contemporary Works / Vintage Works, Ltd. Company: 258 Inverness Circle Company: Chalfont, PA   18914   USA URL: http://www.vintageworks.net Ref.#: 4281 Price: $5,000 Medium: Dilute albumen print from a paper negative Mount: on original mount Image Date: 1854 Print Date: 1854 Dimensions: 16 x 9 in. (406 x 229 mm) Photo Country: France Photographer Country: France Description: An exceptionally dark and purple print. E. Baldus reversed out of the negative and also facsimile signature stamped in black on mount. Both are early and indicate a date of between 1853 and 1858. There is no number in the negative, which indicates a date prior to 1856. The statues are by Germain Pilon. This image was an early study from a series on renaissance sculpture destined for publication and highly praised by contemporary critics, although no extant copies are recorded. Ernest Lacan wrote about this series in an 1854 edition of La Lumiere. In this sculpture, three young women standing back to back with their hands clasped seem to be slowly performing a round dance. On their heads they bear an urn which once contained the heart of Henry II, king of France. The very embodiment of grace, these figures, along with the rest of the monument, was commissioned by Catherine de Médicis for her deceased husband. Germain Pilon is considered, together with Jean Goujon, as the greatest 16th-century French sculptor. Early Mannerist influences on his work were displaced by a greater realism. He excelled in bronze as well as marble, both as a portrait sculptor and a medallist. He carved Francis I's tomb (1558-59) and Henry II's tomb (1564-83) at Saint-Denis, and sculptures for Fontainebleau and the Louvre and at the Chateau d'Anet (for Diane de Poitiers). Shipping and insurance costs will be added to the price and must be paid for by the buyer. Pennsylvania and New York buyers must pay appropriate sales tax. International clients are responsible for their VAT and other custom's oriented charges.