Sculptures

The controversial debate launched by Florida artist and researcher Gary Arseneau concerning posthumous bronze casts of modern sculptures seems likely to prove futile especially as copies in the domain of bronzes have been commonly produced for centuries.

Degas Edgar
«Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans»

Gary Arseneau has claimed that most bronze sculptures by Degas, Barye and many other artists, which are being sold on the art market, are nothing else than fakes since these were cast posthumously. He added that Degas only produced wax models during his lifetime before they were made in bronze after his death and asked whether the artist would have given his consent for such process.

From 2600 B.-C. the Greeks copied the Greeks during many centuries before the Romans went on to copy them and we do not know for sure whether artists played an active role in the casting of pieces.

Many Roman founders came to copy Greek sculptures to meet the increasing demands of rich patrons before the Romans themselves started to carry out their own productions, which were in turn copied in many places of the Roman Empire. Many pieces that are appearing on the market should thus be considered as replicas of original sculptures often made one or two centuries before these copies were cast despite that fact they do sell quite well on the market where they are described as antique works.

As an example, Giambologna was a prolific artist and the sculptures that we know for sure as made during his lifetime are now exhibited in the Bargello Museum in Florence. Still, Giambologna required the help of founders, notably Antonio Susini who was succeeded by his nephew Francesco.

Antonio Susini, who died at a respectable age in 1624, worked for Giambologna but also produced numerous copies after his works. Today, when falls across a Giambologna piece, it remains quite hard piece to ascertain whether it was cast before or after the death of that artist or whether it was made around the 1650s or even later.

Some sculptors of the 19th Century established themselves as founders, notably Barye, but most went bankrupt after 1850 and left their works into the care of well-established firms, like Barbedienne or Susse Frères. The question raised by Arseneau is simply confining itself to semantics meaning that works conceived during the lifetime of an artist should be considered as much more valuable than those produced after his death.

One should however admit that bronze sculptures by Degas or Honoré Daumier are simply reproductions and certainly not original works. In addition, there have been many abuses regarding a large quantity of posthumous bronze works produced during the 20th Century notably following the agreements fetched between founders like Hébrard, Valsuani or Susse, and the heirs of several artists aimed at casting series in limited editions.

Many founders, notably Valsuani, went bankrupt during the 1960s and 1970s and the problem lies in the fact that large quantities of moulds were stolen by some unscrupulous people who went on to produce illegal casts. This resulted in several enormous scandals, notably regarding faked bronze works by Diego Giacometti, Rodin or Rembrandt Bugatti among others.

The problem regarding Rodin's bronzes is most peculiar and in that instance Gary Arseneau has certainly made in point in accusing the Musée Rodin in Paris of having flooded the market with reproductions, which he merely considers as fakes.

Auguste Rodin "Torse arqué d'une femme", 1910, bronze, 86 x 48,1 x 32,2 cm

Auguste Rodin "La Main de Dieu", 1896, marbre 94 x 82,5 x 54,9 cm

In the meantime, we cannot take for granted that a bronze reproduction should be considered as much worthy as an original work. This is definitely the case regarding paintings but not concerning bronze works, which are part of a quite messy domain since works have been duplicated at will.