Large 19th Century French Bronze "Prince Hamlet & the Gravedigger, Shakespeare"

Depth: 23"  58.4 cm)

Victor Adolphe Thiébaut , born in 1828 and died in 1888 was one of the most illustrious founders of French art. He was the creator of the Art Foundry Thiebaut Brothers ,one of the largest and most prestigious art foundries in France during the 19th and 20th centuries. His achievements are visible throughout the world and especially in Paris. In 1849, after being associated with him, his father Charles Antoine Floréal left him the reins of the family foundry " Thiébaut & Fils ", a company manufacturing loops and medals, cylinders for printing canvas and paper, machine parts steam and other industrial objects made of bronze and copper. Two years later, in 1851, Victor Thiébaut decided to start a new activity of art foundry. He created the "Thiébaut Frères Art Foundry". It is from this time that the house will experience great prosperity and international artistic renown.
Victor Thiébaut was a perfectionist. He believed that the perfection of cast iron was the main point of making a work. This way of thinking earned him the trust, the friendship and the advice of the sculptors of the time. The first works of Victor Thiébaut are exhibited throughout Europe. The London Exhibition in 1862 gave him the Knight's Cross of the Legion of Honor . That same year, he was elected mayor of the 10th arrondissement of Paris . Over the years, the fame of the Thiébaut Frères Art Foundry enabled the company to produce more and more important works in collaboration with prestigious artists. In 1860, Victor Thiébaut realized his first Parisian work: the fonts of "Agriculture" and the "Work" of Gumery. These works are visible on one of the fountains of the square-Émile Chautemps. In 1861, he produced a monumental work for the city of Paris: the bronze group "Saint Michael slaying the devil" by Duret, installed on the fountain Saint Michel. In 1863, another monumental work installed in the heart of the capital. Victor Thiebaut performs the statue of Napoleon I er , installed at the top of the Vendôme column . The statue was shot down in 1871 and repaired in 1875 by the Thiébaut Frères Art Foundry. Between 1864 and 1899, Victor Thiébaut realized many monumental works, still today, throughout the capital, including " The Triumph of the Republic ", place de la Nation , the "monument to Joan of Arc", place the Pyramids , the "Lioness of the Sahara", the Louvre palace , many works present in the Luxembourg gardens , the Tuileries gardens , the Jardin des Plantes , and in many other places. In 1878, the "Thiébaut Frères Art Foundry" cast the work " Charlemagne and its Leudes ", installed on parvis Notre-Dame . Victor Thiébaut died in 1888, leaving his sons Victor and Jules with orders for the family business. Until his last days, Victor Thiébaut worked on two monumental orders that will be completed and installed after his death. One of the most visible works made by the "Fonderie Thiébaut Frères" was undoubtedly the replica of the "Statue of Liberty", installed on the bridge of Grenelle ( Swan Island ) and inaugurated by President Carnot on July 14, 1889, in presence of Victor Thiébaut Junior and Jules Thiébaut. In 1899, Dalou's " The Triumph of the Republic " was created by the Thiébaut Frères Foundry. This set installed in the center of the Place de la Nation. She also melted the Monument of the Republic, Republic Square, now world famous, became the symbol of the union of the French after the attacks against Charlie Hebdo on 7 January 2015.