Paul-François CHOPPIN (1856-1937). - Lot 120

Paul-François CHOPPIN (1856-1937). Portrait of Mrs. A. Sculpture in patinated terra cotta. Signed and dated 1880. Resting on a blackened turned wood pedestal. Fragment of an old exhibition label numbered 6196. Total height: 42.5 cm. Bust height: 34 cm. Provenance: - Exhibited May 1, 1880, at the Salon de l'Exposition des Beaux-Arts de Paris, under no. 6196. - Former French private collection. Bibliography: F-G. Dumas, (under the direction of), Catalogue illustré du Salon contenant environ quatre cents reproductions d'après les dessins originaux des artistes, Paris, Éditions Motteroz, 1880, p. 74. A pupil of François Jouffroy (1806-1882) and Alexandre Falguière (1831-1900), Paul-François Choppin trained at the Institution nationale des sourds-muets de Paris, the École nationale des arts décoratifs and the École nationale des Beaux-arts. He first exhibited at the Salon des artistes français in 1877, becoming a member in 1886. He presented his "Volontaire" project three times under different titles: at the Salon in 1888, at the 1889 Universal Exhibition, and again in 1898. An artist at the Salon until 1923, he received an honorable mention in 1886, followed by a silver medal in 1888. He was awarded a bronze medal at the 1889 Universal Exhibition. Choppin was the teacher of Douglas Tilden (1861-1935), who was also deaf. Choppin created two public sculptures in Paris, both of which were melted down under the Vichy regime: the monument to Paul Broca, which in 1887 adorned the Place Henri Mondor in Paris, and "La lavandière", which in 1897 graced the Parc Montsouris in Paris. Our terracotta bust was exhibited in 1880 at the Salon des Beaux-arts de Paris, at the Palais des Champs-Élysées, in the paintings and sculptures section under no. 6196, with the title "Portrait de Mme A***". Paul-François Choppin simultaneously exhibited a plaster medallion representing the "Portrait de M. C... "under no. 6197.