AUGUSTE-HYACINTHE DEBAY (FRENCH, 1804-1865): THE FIRST CRADLE: EVE AND HER TWO CHILDREN, C. 1845
Similar Sale History
View More Items in Sculptures & CarvingsRelated Sculptures & Carvings
More Items in Sculptures & Carvings
View MoreRecommended Art
View MoreItem Details
Description
AUGUSTE-HYACINTHE DEBAY (FRENCH, 1804-1865): THE FIRST CRADLE: EVE AND HER TWO CHILDREN, C. 1845
alabaster, depicting the nude Eve cradling her babies Cain and Abel, seated on a rock, raised on a rectangular plinth, the front carved in relief with a scene of Cain slaying Abel, unsigned,
80cm high x 27cm wide
Debay's original marble group 'The First Cradle' was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1845, and then at the Great Exhibition, London, in 1851. Please see attached illustration of the original marble on view at the Great Exhibtion, from The Illustrated London News of October 11, 1851, There are two known marble copies in existence, although one of these lacks the reliefs at the base that feature in the present alabaster group. They heighten the emotion of the group, which depicts the innocent babies at their mother's breast, yet the reliefs remind us of their violent future.
Buyer's Premium
- 30%