“La Loire et le Loiret”
In my neighborhood of Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, USA, is a dramatic classical-style sculpture that is part of a now-destroyed, Versailles-like mansion that was once a stunning — words escape me — marvel(?), Whitemarsh Hall. This article will gather together everything I could find on the matter, as I embark on trying to fix that broken hand you see below.
First a Little Quiz
On a quiet street in our neigborhood is the statue/sculpture “La Loire et le Loiret” (which in English translates to the 2 rivers, “The Loire and the Loiret”). It has a broken hand and missing pole that is actually an oar handle. I tracked down the original to glorious and grand Tuileries Gardens in Paris, France, where it is in the trusted care of the world’s premier art curator, the Louvre, albeit outside… where we had to play musical chairs with 50,000 tourists in 90-degree heat for 500 shady benches. I thought if I could show the local owners its original glory I could talk them into allowing me to fix ours with my meager creative abilities.
The quiz: the Tuileries casting is in
- A) Perfect condition
- B) Worse condition than the one in Wyndmoor
- C) Identical condition to the one in Wyndmoor
… answer shortly, below.
Castings vs. Original
The original work was created in 1707 by the French sculptor, Corneille Van Clève (1645–1732).
The original was to be exhibited in the Royal Park of Marly, a pleasure residence for King Louis XIV. The ones in the Tuileries and Wyndmoor are copies.
The Louvre Catalog Page
https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010092142
From the Louvre catalog page:
Object history: Commissioned by the direction of the King’s Buildings for the Nappes water feature in the Marly park... Large plaster model cast … by Le Pileur... Marble placed and described in the 1707 inventory. … Change of pedestal, August 1715. Transported and placed in March 1719 … in the Tuileries Gardens. … Housed at the Louvre from 1939 to 1945. Entered the Louvre on October 22, 1993 and replaced by an overmold in its original location.
It’s hard to understand, from that explanation what version is actually marble. Does one make a plaster cast prior to manually carving marble with a chisel??? I guess it might make sense, but I’m surprised if so.
The Marble Original
The original work, shown below, is in the Louvre (Richelieu Wing, Cour Marly). One web commenter stated the following but it’s unclear whether it’s the original marble or the casting that has been restored: “Since 2018, it has undergone a beautiful renovation that has restored it to its former glory.”
Notice in the photo above, the hand and upper arm show band-like marks that might indicate repairs.
The Wyndmoor Casting by Henri-Lion Greber
The stone copy that is in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, USA is engraved in its base, “H. Greber Paris 1925.”
Henri-Léon Greber (28 May 1854–4 June 1941)[1] was a French sculptor, and medallist. His son was the architect Jacques Gréber. Active in the United States, he produced a fountain sculpture of four equestrian statues for Harbor Hill in 1910, (restored in 1957 and installed at Mill Creek Park, adjacent to the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri) and the copy of The Kiss in the Philadelphia Rodin Museum.
The Tuileries Casting
It’s undetermined who created the Tuileries casting, shown here;
So there’s your quiz answer. The world’s premier curators have the identical damage, presumably vandalism to a vulnerable portion of the material.
Location
The stone casting (not the original marble) in France is located in the 1st arrondissement, in Tuileries Gardens, just beyond the entrance on the Place de la Concorde side, near the Octagonal Basin. When you enter the Tuileries Gardens, through the entrance at Place de la Concorde, you can see four groups of allegorical sculptures on bases representing the rivers, arranged in an arch, in what is called “The Horseshoe.”
Composition
Like three other sculptures located nearby, it is a tribute to a river. The large bearded character, who holds an oar (part which is broken), ancient emblem of the domination over the waters, in his left hand and a horn of plenty with fruits, in the right hand, represents the Loire, in the form of the God of the Rivers.
The Petite Loire (Loiret), is represented by a nymph in the ancient Greek style of “Diana” accompanied by two children “The Geniuses of Fertility,” who carry fish from the Loire. The nymph holds in her hand an amphora which lets out water, like a spring.
References
Tripadvisor Comments
Lots of Photos:
