Pair Bronze Busts: "The Fallen King & Laughing Revolutionary, After Carpeaux

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Pair of Allegorical Bronze Busts: "The Fallen King and the Laughing Revolutionary," After Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, France, Late 19th–Early 20th Century

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A profoundly expressive and allegorically charged pair of patinated bronze busts, each mounted on veined pink marble plinths, depicting two contrasting childlike figures—one a weeping monarch crowned in regal ornament, the other a jubilant revolutionary wearing the iconic Phrygian cap. Executed with lively emotional modeling and mounted for formal display, these works fuse the decorative arts with the emotive power of French Romantic sculpture, echoing the hand and spirit of Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827–1875).

Though unsigned, this pairing follows a well-documented typology attributed to Carpeaux or inspired by his atelier. Carpeaux, renowned for his departure from academic rigidity, introduced into sculpture the raw vitality and humanism of children—not as angelic abstractions but as vessels of true psychological intensity. These busts belong to a lesser-known but potent genre within the tradition: allegory through infantilization.

The Crying King:
The first figure wears a highly ornamented royal crown, his brows knit and lips curled in a loud, unrestrained cry. His expression borders on grotesque, exaggerating the vulnerability of an infantilized monarch. This is not a noble sovereign but a parody—a ruler stripped of his dignity and power, rendered childlike, impotent, and absurd.

This bust resonates with the caricatured portrayals of monarchs seen during the French Revolution, most notably Louis XVI and Charles X, who were depicted in satirical broadsides as greedy, naive, or childish. In this context, the crying crowned child becomes a symbol of monarchy’s collapse, mourning its loss of divine right in a post-revolutionary world.

The Laughing Revolutionary:
In deliberate contrast, the second bust wears the Phrygian cap—the unmistakable emblem of liberty since Antiquity, revived during the 1789 French Revolution and re-embodied in Marianne, the personification of the French Republic. Here, the child beams with laughter, his head cocked mischievously to one side, eyes glinting with irreverent joy. This is not just a laughing child—it is liberty incarnate, unburdened, unbowed, and triumphant.

The pairing suggests a symbolic inversion of power: the mighty have been brought low, while the oppressed laugh in newfound freedom. It’s not merely a study in emotion—it’s a revolutionary dialogue in bronze, staged through two seemingly innocent faces.

Historical Context and Interpretation:
This work should be situated in the politically volatile landscape of post-Second Empire France, when Carpeaux and his contemporaries were responding to seismic changes—the fall of Napoleon III, the horrors of the Franco-Prussian War, and the brief, radical emergence of the Paris Commune. The sculpture captures not only social commentary but also a philosophical stance: monarchy and revolution are not opposing abstractions but emotional states—fear and joy, collapse and ascent, loss and rebirth.

By casting both as children, the artist calls attention to the absurdity and humanity of politics: that even systems of power are ultimately constructed by fragile, flawed, emotional beings. The viewer is invited to empathize with both—to laugh at the king’s comeuppance but also to mourn his fall.

Medium & Craftsmanship:
Each figure is finely cast in patinated bronze, with well-articulated hair, expressive facial modeling, and a warm, chocolaty brown surface. The sculptural heads are mounted on turned pink and cream marble bases, evoking the tradition of Grand Tour souvenirs while elevating them into the realm of fine allegorical objects.

Dimensions:
(Insert actual measurements here—approx. 9" H for Crown/9" H for Hat Bronze; both have 4.75 diameter marble bases.)

Condition:
Very good, with minor wear to patina and felt base. No chips or structural damage observed.

Attribution:
After Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, French, late 19th to early 20th century.

Comparable Works and Legacy:
Versions of these busts—occasionally with minor variations—appear in French decorative arts auctions and collections, sometimes bearing foundry marks such as Susse Frères or Val d'Osne, though many are unsigned as here. They remain highly collectible not only for their decorative charm but also for their narrative power—capable of anchoring a mantel or library shelf while conveying a sharp, historical wit. See less