Fantasy Bust of a Veiled Woman (Marguerite Bellanger?)

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Human: The Fantasy Bust of a Veiled Woman stands out as one of three documented examples of this particular composition. A previously unrecorded masterpiece, it is actually the finest version of its kind. The other two are a painted plaster in the Museum of the Second Empire at Compiègne Castle in France, and a partially repainted terracotta sculpture in the Carnavalet Museum in Paris. All three were created using molds, but this particular bust has preserved some mold lines as fine as human hairs. These minute details showcase the precision and technical expertise that went into creating this work of art, which may have been influenced by late sixteenth-century French sculptures such as Germain Pilon's renowned Virgin of Sorrows (a marble example in Saint-Paul-Saint-François, Paris, and a terracotta version at the Louvre), with its heavy veil. Carrier-Belleuse employed Auguste Rodin as an assistant on several occasions. In Carrier-Belleuse's well-organized studios, Rodin learned how to manage large-scale workshops during his maturity. It is likely that Rodin also gained mastery of mold-made sculptures from Carrier-Belleuse. The similarity between the two artists was a significant factor in acquiring this terracotta sculpture. The resemblance between National Gallery's Bust of a Woman, 1875, by Rodin and Fantasy Bust by Carrier-Belleuse is easily recognizable. Over the past decade, the National Gallery has acquired three large academic marble sculptures from the nineteenth century: Nydia, the Blind Girl of Pompeii by Randolph Rogers; Reading Girl by Pietro Magni; and David Triumphant by Thomas Crawford. The Fantasy Bust provides a perfect balance to these works and serves as a welcome link between them and Rodin's art. By contributing to a much-needed stylistic and historical context for the Gallery's sculptures by Rodin, the Fantasy Bust of a Veiled Woman also enhances the chronological coherence of the collection.