An Important Monumental Terracotta Group by Maison Gossin Frères Depicting Bacchanal Putti with Goat

Louis and Etienne Gossin (1846-1928 and d. 1900), Mid 19th Century

Depicting a Bacchanal of putti with a goat, displayed on a custom capsule-form limestone plinth which disassembles into eleven sections; bearing a large etched signature, Gossin Frères to the base.
Height of sculpture 67 x width 76 x depth 34 inches;
Overall height (with plinth) 88 inches;
Height of plinth 20 x width 86 x depth 44 inches.

Property from a Noteworthy Private Collection, Palm Beach, Florida

On Maison Gossin Frères:

Statuary by Gossin Frères are represented in the permanent collections of the Augustinian Museum of Toulouse (Toulouse, France), The Petit Palais/Museum of Fine Arts of the City of Paris (Paris, France) as well as in important private collections internationally, including The Rothschild Family's Waddesdon Manor (Buckinghamshire, England) and the Vanderbilt family's Biltmore Estate (Asheville, North Carolina). Catalogs of statuary issued by Maison Gossin Frères are held by both The Victoria and Albert Museum's National Art Library (London, England) and The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, New York). Maison Gossin Frères was led by two brothers, Etienne (d. 1900) and Louis (1846-1928). The firm produced mainly large and decorative statuary, notably with mythology as its theme. Louis Gossin was a student of Mathurin Moreau (1822-1912) and exhibited regularly from 1877-1900. The brothers were renowned for their ornamental terracotta works and exhibited at the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, the Salon de Paris, winning medals in 1882 and 1886. Thereafter Louis Gossin won several additional medals of distinction in 1889 and 1890 in the United States.

On the symbolism of Putti with goat:

Depictions of Putti with a goat are an ancient classical motif re-popularised by the famous Italian sculptor, Donatello (ca. 1386-1420) and other subsequent Renaissance artists. Putti are associated with Aphrodite/Venus and therefore represent life and love, amusement, mirth and leisure. As they frolic and play, they also represent heaven, peace, abundance and prosperity. Putti with a goat was a popular theme depicted by early modern artists of the 16th-19th centuries such as Francois du Duquesnoy, Jacob de Wit, Marcantonio Francheschini, Charles-Joseph Natoire, P.E. Van den Bossche, and others. Putti are often associated with wild revelry and the god of wine and pleasure Dionysus/Bacchus and related rites include Lupercalia, an ancient Roman holiday involving the sacrifice of a goat.

An Important Monumental Terracotta Group by Maison Gossin Frères Depicting Bacchanal Putti with Goat

An Important Monumental Terracotta Group by Maison Gossin Frères Depicting Bacchanal Putti with Goat

**An Important Monumental Terracotta Group by Maison Gossin Frères Depicting Bacchanal Putti with Goat**

**An Important Monumental Terracotta Group by Maison Gossin Frères Depicting Bacchanal Putti with Goat**