19th Century French Bronze “Volontaire de 92” on Marble Base Signed P. Choppin

$3,900

About

Decorate a man’s desk, an office or a study with this elegant antique bronze figure. Hand crafted in France circa 1880, and titled “Volontaire de 92” ( A Call to Arms of 1792 in English), the large sculpture stands on a separate double deck variegated beige marble base from later addition, with attached cartouche; the tall figure depicts a young French revolutionary fighter musketeer preparing to storm the Tuileries Palace in Paris. The two-piece sculpture is in excellent condition and adorns a beautiful patinated bronze finish. Paul-François Choppin (1856-1937), was a French sculptor, born in Auteuil on 26 February 1856. He lost his hearing at the age of two and remained deaf and mute throughout his life. He studied at the National Institution for deaf-mutes in Paris, at the National School of Decorative Arts and then at the National School of Fine Arts. In 1904, he married Marie Célina Reuché, a miniaturist painter. A pupil of François Jouffroy and Alexandre Falguière, he started at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1877, of which he became a member in 1886. He presented his Volunteer project three times at the Salon, first in 1888 under the title A winner of the Bastille, then at the Universal Exhibition of 1889: A Volunteer of 92, and finally in 1898: A Enrolled in 1792. Choppin exhibited at the Salon until 1923. In 1886 he obtained an honorable mention, then a silver medal in 1888 and he received a bronze medal at the Exposition Universelle (1889). Choppin worked as an art teacher in Paris, where the deaf artist Douglas Tilden was his pupil in the late 1880s. Choppin died in Paris on 13 June 1937. Listed in the Benezit (see last picture). 14″W x 13″D x 25.35″H

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