Louis-Simon Boizot, Iphigenia and Chrysos, 1775Image: Koller
Formerly owned by the monochrome King of Fashion Karl Lagerfeld, this pair of black patinated bronze busts are the handiwork of famed French sculptor Louis-Simon Boizot. The busts depict Greek mythological figures Iphigenia and Chrysos. Boizot created the pieces inspired by the Parisian opera Iphigénie en Aulide, which was composed by Austrian Christoph Willibald Gluck in 1774, the composer's fifth opera for the French stage.
Paris, circa 1900. Porcelain, after a model by Louis-Simon Boizot (1743-1809) of 1780 for SèvresImage: Koller
Louis-Simon Boizot (1743-1809) was known for both his delicate biscuit figures for Sèvres porcelain as well as his large-scale commissions. His work is currently around the world.
Getty Musuem
In 1778, Boizot was admitted to the Académie royale and exhibited at their annual salons until 1800. In 1783, he created a decorative panel which was an allegory of Les Eléments, which is currently housed at Los Angeles' Getty Museum.
From 1773 to 1800 Boizot directed the sculpture workshop at Manufacture nationale de Sèvres. Here, he produced white unglazed biscuit figures with a matte finish which were intended to imitate marble. His allegorical piece representing Charity, made circa 1785, is also now part of the Getty Museum's collection.
Wallace Collection
London's Wallace Collection, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford, is also home to works by Boizot. The sculptor created terracotta models for gilt-bronze clock cases, including the allegorical figures of the "Avignon" clock which sits in the Wallace Collection today.
Musée Carnavalet
Boizot was an integral artist during the artistic movements of the French Revolution. In 1792 he was a member of the Commission des Monuments and then from 1805 he held a chair at the Academie des Beaux-Arts. During this time he created the sculpture for the Fontaine du Palmier which was erected in 1808 in the Place du Châtelet, Paris.
The piece, entitled Victory, marks Napoleon's return from Egypt. Today the original sculpture is in the gardens of the Musée Carnavalet.
Louis-Simon Boizot's Iphigenia and Chrysos busts from the private collection of Karl Lagerfeld will be part of Koller's auctions taking place from September 18 to 22, 2017. Check out the full catalog here.
