Bibliography
"Acquisitions/1988." The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal 17 (1989), pp. 102, 144, no. 78.
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Object Details
Title:
Pair of decorative bronzes with the figures of L'Etude and La Philosophie
Artists/Makers:
Attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire (French, 1751 - 1843, master 1772)
after models by Louis-Simon Boizot (French, 1743 - 1809)
Culture:
French
Place:
Paris, France (Place Created)
Date:
about 1780–1785
Medium:
Gilt and patinated bronze
Object Number:
88.SB.113
Object Description
The reading female represents an allegory of Study, while her male companion who writes on a tablet is Philosophy. These purely decorative objects copy the form of ancient oil lamps, but they were not actually functional.
In 1780 the sculptor Louis-Simon Boizot sold models for these figures to the Sèvres porcelain manufactory, which produced them in unglazed white porcelain until 1786. The bronze chaser Pierre-Philippe Thomire mounted many pieces of the porcelain sold by the factory and therefore could have obtained Boizot's models for these bronze pieces through this close connection.