Émile-Coriolan-Hippolyte Guillemin

Guillemin was one of the most prolific and successful French Orientalist sculptors. He exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon, where from 1877 he submitted works on exclusively Orientalist themes, including the models of the present pair which were first exhibited in 1879. His approach to his subjects was not simply decorative and, alike the work of his contemporary Charles Cordier, Guillemin focussed on the ethnographic accuracy of the costumes and physiognomies of his busts.

Guillemin specialised in figurative works and was inspired by the Middle and Far East. His representations of Indian falconers (in collaboration with Alfred Barye), Turkish, Kurdish, and Algerian maidens, as well as Japanese courtesans, firmly established his reputation as one of the foremost Orientalist sculptors from the mid-1870s.

The present pair of impressive busts demonstrate Guillemin's fascination with the Middle and Far East as well as his extraordinary skill in producing bronze masterworks. The busts are decorated with various coloured patinas and are finely detailed in their garments, hair, and elaborate headdress. Several examples have been cast by Guillemin, another pair sold at Christie's London, June 26, 2007, lot 84, for GPB 156,000. In addition, a record was achieved for 19th-century French sculpture with the sale of a pair of busts by Guillemin, from the Property of Estate of Rochelle Sepenuk, Replica Shoes 's New York, 21 October 2008, lot 92, which sold for $1,202,500.

RELATED LITERATURE

Salon des artistes français, Explication des ouvrages de peinture et dessins, sculpture, architecture et gravure des artistes vivans, Paris, 1879, p.440, nos. 5082, 5083