19th C Antique Bronze Sculpture of a Dancing Couple "Pas De Quatres" - Barthelmy

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The Mismatched Partners
Paris, 1789. The Duc de Montmorency's annual ball.

Mademoiselle Tourbillon had danced with princes, poets, and at … Read more The Mismatched Partners
Paris, 1789. The Duc de Montmorency's annual ball.

Mademoiselle Tourbillon had danced with princes, poets, and at least one notorious privateer. Her feet, it was said, never truly touched the parquet. She moved as mercury moves: quicksilver, inevitable, mesmerizing.

Then the orchestra struck up a quadrille.

Her assigned partner, Monsieur Gros-Vent, approached with all the grace of a merchant's cart navigating cobblestones. He was not without charm—there was money, after all, and a château in Provence—but nature had not designed him for the minuet. Where she anticipated, he stumbled. Where she floated, he lurched. Their figures, frozen now in bronze, capture that eternal moment: beauty yoked to awkwardness, lightness bound to weight.

"C'est un cauchemar," she whispered, just loud enough for the Comtesse beside them to hear.

Yet they danced. And in that mismatched pairing—grace accommodating ungainliness, elegance making room for effort—there emerged something unexpectedly human. The sculpture before you preserves not just a dance, but the comedy and pathos of every social ritual where we must make the best of our partners, literal or otherwise.

This bronze casting, titled "Pad de Quatres," captures figures mid-movement, their period dress rendered in exquisite detail. A conversation piece that speaks to anyone who has ever survived an obligation with style.

The figures are captured with exquisite realism and expressive movement, characteristic of late 19th-century French artistry. Note the details of lace, buckles, ornamental patterns, and a cherub blowing a pair of trumpets.

Artist: Barthelemy (signed on base)

Title: Pas de Quatres

Date: Late 19th century

Material: Bronze

Condition: Excellent antique condition, with a rich patina and only minor wear consistent with age.

A beautiful and romantic piece that reflects the elegance and vitality of the Belle Époque era—perfect for collectors of fine bronzes or lovers of dance and classical sculpture. See less