Jules Franceschi (1825 - 1893) - Lot 27

Jules Franceschi (1825 - 1893) White Carrara marble bust of Countess Greffulhe, née Élisabeth de Caraman-Chimay (1860 - 1952). Resting on a flared base; signed Franceschi. H. 90 cm Small chips and accidents A carved white carrara marble bust of the Countess Greffulhe, born Élisabeth de Caraman-Chimay (1860 - 1952), by Jules Franceschi (1825 - 1893) A living legend in the flamboyant Paris of the Belle Époque, Countess Greffulhe, born Élisabeth de Caraman-Chimay (1860 - 1952), fascinated Paris and the European gotha for over half a century. She played a key role in the revival of musical creation at the turn of the century, launched the Ballets Russes, and gave decisive support to Marie Curie and Édouard Branly. With her admirable beauty and elegance, Countess Greffulhe inspired many artists. Marcel Proust wrote of her to Robert de Montesquiou, "I have never seen a woman so beautiful". The present bust by sculptor Jules Franceschi perfectly captures her assets and her avant-garde taste for fashion. Franceschi, of Italian origin, began his studies in Besançon before joining François Rude's studio in Paris. He exhibited at the Salon as early as 1848, and took part in the major Parisian projects of the Second Empire and Third Republic: Gare du Nord, Palais du Louvre, Saint-Sulpice and Saint François-Xavier churches, Palais-Royal, Tuileries, foyer de l'Opéra and Hôtel de Ville. He is also known as a portraitist, and is closely associated with Comédie-Française boarders such as Emile Augier, Sarah Bernhardt, Sophie Croisette, Charles Gounod, Mme Judic, Victor Massé, Joseph-Philoclès Regnier de la Brière, Mlle Reichenberg and the Countess Greffulhe, for whom he had great admiration. Expert : Isabelle d'Amécourt SFEP member