Louis Robert Carrier-Belleuse

Son and student of the famous sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (1824-1887), Louis-Robert entered the Salon as a painter in 1870, and then later as a sculptor in 1889. He was particularly active in the decorative arts.

Louis-Robert Carrier-Belleuse's Homage to Priapus is related to his father's famous 1863 marble of a Bacchante, exhibited at the Salon in 1863 as n°2275, bought for the Tuileries and now in the Musée d'Orsay (inv. no. RF 143). It is a prime example of the sculptor's admiration of eighteenth century models by artists such as Clodion and Marin. The present marble follows Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse's later reimagining of his Bacchante with the addition of a charming putto alongside a seated female figure with her arm outstretched toward the head of Priapus, the Greek god of fertility and gardens. A terracotta version of this model was sold at Sotheby's New York, 29 January 2010, as lot 513.