STAIR
Live Auction

The Fine Sale - May 18, 2023

Thu, May 18, 2023 11:00AM EDT
Lot 80

French Stained Oak Artist Mannequin, First Half of the 19th Century

Estimate: $8,000 - $12,000
Sold for

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $25
$200 $50
$500 $100
$3,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$30,000 $2,500
$100,000 $5,000

5 ft. 11 in. x 14 in.

Note: "The mannequin, or lay figure, was a ubiquitous presence in the artist's studios from at least the Renaissance, but its use was rarely explicitly acknowledged in paintings, drawings or sculpture until the nineteenth century. Indeed, it comes as a surprise to realize that many of the greatest artists used models of this kind - from Michaelangelo and Titian to Poussin, Gainsborough, Degas, Courbet, the Pre-Raphaelites and Cézanne. For the sculptor, the mannequin was as much a workshop tool as the mallet, chisel and stool and was at the same time the 'flipside' of the living model; inert, more docile and much more obliging'.

Tim Knox, in preface to Jane Munro, Silent Partners; Artist and Mannequin from Function to Fetish, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, October 14, 2014 - January 25, 2015, exh. cat. 

Condition

In good overall condition with minor age splits, some with filler. His left hand is detached and will need restoration to secure, all other joints work well. Evidence of old worming, some replaced dowels with very minor scuffing and wear. The head has a crack in the back, the backside has losses and a gouge as to be expected. Large in scale.

Not withstanding this report or any discussion concerning condition of a lot, all lots are offered and sold "as is" in accordance with our conditions of sale.

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