Frolicking Putti, A Carrara Marble Sculpture on a Verde Antico Marble Pedestal
By Auguste Moreau, circa 1895
Signed Auguste Moreau
The sculpture: 33 in (83.8 cm) high, 21 in (53.3 cm) wide
The pedestal: 43 in (109.2 cm) high
Provenance
El Palacio Ferreyra, Argentina
Born in Dijon, Auguste-Louis-Mathurin Moreau (d. 1917) was the youngest brother of three celebrated French sculptors. With his two brothers Mathurin and Hyppolyte-François, he learned sculpture from his father Jean-Baptiste and also at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris. He had two sons, sculptors Louis-Auguste and Hyppolyte, also members of this celebrated dynasty of French sculptors, together responsible for thousands of models that may now be found in museums throughout the world.
Auguste was a regular exhibitor at the Salon from 1861 until 1913, showing genre, pastoral and allegorical subjects, in a realistic and graceful style, executed in both bronze and marble. Many of his popular subjects were cast in bronze: the present sculptural marble group is a piece of great importance, quality and rarity.
Located in Córdoba, Argentina, the Ferreyra Palace was designed by French architect Ernest Sanson and built between 1912 and 1916 for Dr Martín Ferreyra, a prominent local physician and surgeon, as well as the owner of limestone quarries and the largest limestone factory in Argentina at that time. Subsequent generations made further contributions to the interiors of the palace, in particular the Imperial Bedroom.
