Winter at The Louvre, Paris

myminifactory

The personification of seasons was a common theme among many sculptors following the Renaissance period. Pierre Le Gros the Elder (1629 – 11 May 1714), a French sculptor, primarily focused on decorating château and gardens at Versailles, often working from designs by Charles Le Brun, as seen in L'Eau (the Water). He collaborated with other Bâtiments du Roi sculptors. His son, Pierre Le Gros the Younger, worked mainly in Rome. The elder Le Gros was born in Chartres and studied under Jacques Sarrazin. He joined the Académie in 1666 and created numerous commissions for Versailles, including bronze and marble statues, bas-reliefs, and fountains. At Versailles, his bronze fountain sculpture of a cupid, "the Genius of Royal Power," seated on an eagle that ejected water, was engraved by Jean le Pautre (his father-in-law) in the 1670s as part of the series of images spreading Baroque Classicism throughout Europe. Another fountain sculpture for Versailles, Cherubs Playing with a Lyre, created between 1672 and 1673, was removed from Versailles in the mid-eighteenth century and is now displayed at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. Projects for Bâtiments du Roi were distinctly cooperative affairs. A case in point is the Porte Saint-Martin in Paris, designed by Pierre Bullet and executed between 1672 and 1674. The team of sculptors providing bas-reliefs for the spandrels of the monumental rusticated triumphal arch included Gaspard Marsy, Pierre Legros, Etienne Le Hongre, and Martin Desjardins and their assistants. Le Gros' contribution was The Capture of Limburg, 1675, but the subject, a seated woman by a supine lion, was dictated to Le Gros, and the general composition as well. His herms representing the Four Seasons are conserved in the Louvre Museum. This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks, and landmarks from across the globe for public access at no charge. Scan the World is an open-source, community effort. If you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to learn how you can participate.