Bronze of Satan after Jean-Jacques Feuchere, mounted on a clock, $16,000 (£13,200) at Bonhams.
Titled Satan when first exhibited in plaster at the Salon of 1834 and cast in bronze the following year, it proved an influential work for its Romantic portrayal of Mephistopheles as a melancholic rather than a monstrous creature.
One commentator wrote: “Among all the angels and demons, there is one figure that incontestably merits particular attention because of the original character it has been imprinted with, because of the novelty of its composition and the conscientious craftsmanship with which it is rendered, it is the Satan of M Feuchère, a personification, with plenty of verve and ardour, of the evil genius at odds with being powerless.”
The subject’s pose is inspired by the famous engraving of Melancholy by Dürer (Feuchere is known to have owned a copy) and in turn is thought to have influenced Rodin’s Thinker. A number of reductions were cast in bronze measuring 10½in (21cm) and 13½in (34cm) as here.
Signed and dated Feuchere 1833, it was estimated at $800-1200 but sold at $16,000 (£13,200) in the Los Angeles auction.
