Photo : © Christian Devleeschauwer
Young Dante, seated on a pyramidal stool decorated on the sides with trilobed motifs and with uprights featuring vegetal interlacing, legs crossed, hands resting on his thighs, the left slightly open, the right holding a book by Virgil, eyes raised towards the sky, long hair, dressed in Renaissance attire.
René de Saint-Marceaux (sculptor)
School, country: Champagne
Reims, September 23, 1845 – Paris, April 23, 1915
After 1868; third quarter of the 19th century
Material: White marble
Technique: Carved, polished
Dimensions (H x W x D in cm): 69.5 x 23 x 35
Weight: 43,500 g
Provenance: Purchase from René de Saint-Marceaux, 1876
Place of Conservation: Museum of Fine Arts (inv. 876.5.1)
The poet of the Divine Comedy is depicted seated on a stool, holding a book; the polished and smooth style demonstrates great technical skill; the drapery of the tunic is rendered admirably. The artist seeks to express the depths of the human inner world, its feelings, torments, and revolts. This work belongs to a classical aesthetic that favors simple, elegant poses and respect for proportions. In this Dante, one can recognize the memory of the central figure from the famous House of the Musicians, now reconstructed at the Saint-Remi Museum in Reims, which René had the opportunity to admire during his walks in his native city.