Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse

Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse was one of the most important and innovative sculptors of nineteenth-century France. During his long career at the Paris Salon and beyond, Carrier-Belleuse was responsible for important public monuments, as well as creating decorative sculpture for a diverse clientele. His terracotta models, many of which depict playful mythological subjects, were reproduced widely. Carrier-Belleuse’s prolific workshop became an important training ground for younger sculptors, notably Auguste Rodin, who acted as the master’s assistant between 1864 and 1870.

There is a version of this model at the Musée d'Orsay (inv. no. RF 3718) which is described as a bust of a 'Young Woman with a Hat Decorated with Ears of Wheat', but other descriptions of the model have suggested that it may well have been intended as an allegory of summer as part of a series of the four seasons. A marble version of this model was exhibited at La Galerie des Laques in 1998 and described as 'possibly symbolising summer' (Hureau, op. cit., no. 3).