Large French Renaissance Revival Bronze Mounted Carved Walnut Mantel Clock

Description

A magnificent 19th century French Renaissance Revival patinated bronze mounted carved walnut "Day and Night" mantel clock.

The dial with … more A magnificent 19th century French Renaissance Revival patinated bronze mounted carved walnut "Day and Night" mantel clock.

The dial with Roman numerals flanked by allegorical figures of night and day after Michelangelo.

France, circa 1870

Maker: Victor Paillard

The movement stamped: Vr. Paillard, Paris. Rodier Paris Stamp & Medaille Dor', 1837

Dimensions:
Height 22" (56 cm)
Width 37" (94 cm)
Depth 9" (22 cm)

Victor Paillard (1805-1886) designed and made various bronze decorative and functional objects including chenets, lighting and clocks. He also cast bronzes for some of the most important sculptors of the day including Barye, Carrier-Belleuse and Pradier

He opened his first workshop in the 1830s at 105, boulevard Beaumarchais and 6, rue Saint-Claude and by the 1850s was employing around 100 people. His success at numerous international exhibitions including the 1851 Great Exhibition (where he displayed a bronze of the Standing Sappho after Pradier) further enhanced his reputation

Day and night by Michelangelo: Though never finished, the tomb of Giuliano de' Medici in the Medici Chapel is the only one of Michelangelo great architectural-sculptural projects to be realized in a form approaching completion.

Built between 1520 and 1534, it is widely held to be one of Michelangelo's most stunning achievements.
The pose of the central figure on the tomb of Giuliano de' Medici, arms resting at his sides and legs comfortably apart, and its open composition suggest a cheerful Duke, generous in both mind and spirit. In fact, the figure holds in his hand several coins, as if an intended gift. Light plays freely on his beautiful face, yet the figure is lacking in energy and seems to wilt under the burden of the Roman armor. Michelangelo did not intend for this sculpture, nor that of Lorenzo, to be a recognizable portrait of the Duke, but instead an ideological tribute through its enhanced beauty and dignity. less