Gabrielle Foivard, Portrait of Émile Littré (1882)

GABRIELLE FOIVARD (Rio de Janeiro 1848 - Bois-Colombe 1897) Portrait of Émile Littré. 1882. Plaster. H. 44 cm. Signed and dated: G Foivard / 1882. Gabrielle Foivard, sometimes referred to as Marie Gabrielle Foivard, was one of the few students of Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux and undoubtedly the most significant. The elderly sculptor maintained a platonic relationship with his young pupil (for their relationship, refer to the book on Carpeaux written by his daughter Louise Clément-Carpeaux). Foivard received several commissions from the state, which was unusual for a young sculptress at that time, including a bust of Émile Littré, commissioned for the Galerie Historique de Versailles, which is still in place. The version in Versailles is made of marble and is larger. However, a plaster version, like this one, was exhibited in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1883. Littré - a doctor, philosopher, lexicographer, and politician - one of the greatest literary figures of the 19th century, presents a face with a characterful physiognomy.