LOT 598
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Lot 598
EMMANUEL FREMIET (French 1824-1910)
St. George Slaying the Dragon
Bronze with brown patina
Inscribed "E. FREMIET" and with foundry mark of Barbedienne
Height 20.4 inches (51.8 cm)
Estimate:
$3,000 - 4,000
€ 2,100 - 2,800
"J'y ai mis tout l'effort artistique don't je suis capable...," confessed Frémiet when discussing his St. George. Chevillot notes that the St. George incorporates many of the most important themes in Frémiet's work. It is in the first instance an equestrian subject, it explores the confrontation and struggle between man and animal, it is set in a medieval period, and it displays the greatest attention to detail. Frémiet initially conceived his St. George only as a small-scale statuette and exhibited it in this 53 cm size at the Salon in 1891. Although the State offered to buy a 'full-size' example for 2000 francs, the sculptor had already sold a number of reductions and so offered instead a version of the same dimensions at a price of 800 francs, which was accepted. It was in preparing for the 1900 Exposition Universelle that the Thiebaut Foundry approached Frémiet to cast one of his models life-size as an example of their bronze casting expertise. The St. George was chosen ahead of the Joan of Arc and it was bought by the ville de Paris to be erected at the junction of the Champs-Élysées and the avenue Alexandre III.
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