catalog text
FELIX SANZEL
French, 1829-1883
"L'Amour vainqueur" [Love Conquers] (1865)
Patinated and burnished bronze | signed in cast "Fx Sanzel" | a lifetime cast circa 1870
Item # 306PRK21E
An exquisitely cast sculpture of Love Conquers after the model by Felix Sanzel, it was initially exhibited at the Salon of 1865 as no. 3150 in plaster. Thereafter it was cast and issued by several foundries. The present example is the large edition standing just shy of 30" in height and retains its original nearly black overall patina with nuanced undertones of dark brown, olive and medium browns while just a few trace elements are partially gilded. The base is signed with a crisp engraving of "Fx. Sanzel".
The sculpture depicts Cupid tying a blindfold around the eyes of Athena, a playful image making a statement that love blinds wisdom and war. It is sometimes confused with his statue of Amour Captif (Captured Love), which he exhibited in 1868 and was acquired for placement in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris; the larger-than-life marble sculpture still stands there today. The two sculptures were designed over the same trapezoidal plinth and likely Sanzel intended them to stand together for a more full statement on the whimsical and irrational nature of love.
Note the magnificent texture in the hair of both figures, the exquisite development of the feathers in Cupid's wings and the translucent glow throughout the body of Cupid. A very fine casting.
FÉLIX SANZEL
Born in Paris on January 25th of 1829 at 13 rue Boucherat, his father François Sanzel was a baker and his mother was Henriette Chartier. Félix Sanzel studied under Hippolyte Fromanger and Augustin Dumont and exhibited at the Salon from 1849 through 1883.
In 1862 he was commissioned to produce a marble statue of Cérés after antiquity, which would be used for decorating the court of the Louvre - he was paid 3,000 francs (approximately $ 52,500) for this commission.
He won a medal in 1868 for his group in marble of Amour Captif (see Berman, vol. IV, p. 1100, fig. 4406), a sculpture that was commissioned by the French Government in 1867 for a price of 8,000 francs (approximately $ 140,000 in today's dollars), fully paid for in May of 1868. The plaster model of Amour Captif was made seven years prior for the Salon of 1861 (no. 3605). The completed marble statue was exhibited at the Salon of the same year (no. 3848) - it was thereafter installed in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris.
His Bust of Fénelon can be seen at the Ècole Normale Supérieure in Paris. L'Espiégle was exhibited in 1868 in marble and was acquired by virtue of ministerial decree for 2500 francs (approximately $ 43,000); it was then given by the State in 1871 to the Museum of Orléans - the sculpture was subsequently cast in bronze and exhibited again at the Salon of 1874.
Throughout his career, Sanzel did work for the Louvre Palace, the Opera and the Hotel de Ville. His last submission was a bust in bronze of M. de Lanessan, député, which he exhibited at the Salon of 1883 before his death in Paris in December of the same year.
Artist Listings & Bibliography:
- Catalogues of the Paris Salon 1673-1881, vol. 1865, H.W. Janson, 1977, p. 423
- Dictionnaire des Sculpteurs de L'École Française, vol. IV, Lami, 1921, p. 234-235
- E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, vol. XII, Gründ, 2006, p. 410
- The Dictionary of Western Sculptors in Bronze, James Mackay, 1977, p. 334
Measurements: 29 3/4" H x 9 1/2" D x 9 1/2" W
Condition Report:
Cupid's wing is ever-so-slightly loose (a very faint wiggle in the connection to his back). Original patina throughout with accretion to the surface resulting in a matte texture in a few areas; typical wear commensurate with age and cleaning over time to raised elements throughout including Cupid's fingertips, raised ridges of his arm, relieving from gentle handling throughout the body of Cupid including the garment over his leg, more notable rubbing wear to the patina at the back of the circular base.