Jean-Jacques FEUCHERE
Jean-Jacques Feuchère was closely associated with the goldsmiths’ community before turning his attention to sculpture, and in particular to bronze casting. He made his debut at the 1831 Salon, before receiving numerous public commissions, one of the most prestigious being a bas-relief depicting The Crossing of the Arcole Bridge for the Arc de Triomphe on the Place de l’Etoile in Paris in 1834. A full participant in the Romantic movement, Feuchère is known for his fondness for the Gothic period, with a very strong historical awareness, particularly when he created the monument to Mary Stuart for the state commission of the Illustrious Women of France, or the Joan of Arc on the pyre for Rouen Town Hall. This interest in the Gothic period and its arts undoubtedly inspired the model of Mephistopheles or Satan, brought back into the limelight by Goethe in 1808 and 1832, just before Feuchère’s model was conceived in 1833. It is the emblematic model of Romantic sculpture, the artist’s best-known work.
Jean-Jacques Feuchère was closely associated with the goldsmiths’ community before devoting himself to sculpture, particularly bronze casting. He made his debut at the 1831 Salon, before receiving numerous public commissions, one of the most prestigious being a bas-relief depicting The Crossing of the Arcole Bridge for the Arc de Triomphe on the Place de l’Etoile in Paris in 1834.
A key figure in the Romantic movement, Feuchère is known for his fondness for the Gothic period and his keen historical awareness, particularly evident in his monument to Mary Stuart, commissioned by the State for the ‘Illustrious Women of France’ project, and his statue of Joan of Arc at the stake for Rouen Town Hall.
This interest in the Gothic period and its arts undoubtedly inspired the model of Mephistopheles or Satan, brought back into the limelight by Goethe in 1808 and 1832, just before Feuchère’s model was conceived in 1833. It is the iconic model of Romantic sculpture and the artist’s best-known work.
