Large 19th Century French Antique Patinated Plaster Figure of Jean Racine

Jean Racine (1639–1699) was the great tragedian of Louis XIV’s France, the author of Andromaque, Britannicus and Phèdre. In this nineteenth-century figure he is shown in the full-bottomed wig and flowing drapery of the Grand Siècle, the age of Louis XIV. He stands in a contemplative pose, one arm resting on a square pedestal, and his name is incised across the front of the base in Roman capitals.

The figure belongs to the long French tradition of commemorating the nation’s men of letters. That tradition began with the statues of grands hommes commissioned under Louis XVI and flourished in the nineteenth century. In that period public monuments to writers multiplied across France, and their likenesses were reproduced in plaster for schools, academies, libraries and private studies. The modelling is good. The heavy curls of the wig, the serious, inward expression and the deep folds of the cloak are all handled with confidence. The surface has a warm ochre patina in imitation of stone or terracotta, mellowed by more than a century of age.

Racine’s career was remarkable by any measure. Orphaned young and educated by the Jansenists of Port-Royal, he went on to dominate the Paris stage. He was elected to the Académie française and was eventually appointed royal historiographer to Louis XIV. To this day he remains, alongside Corneille and Molière, one of the three pillars of French classical drama. A fine figure for the library shelf, the study or a collection of literary portraiture.

Provenance: France. 19th-century.

Material: Patinated plaster

Condition: Good overall. Surface wear and minor chips to the edges and corners of the base, with small rubs to the high points, consistent with age and handling. Please refer to the images.

Dimensions: Height 19¾ in (50 cm); base 7 × 7 in (18 × 18 cm)