Guillaume GEEFS (1805-1883) - Lot 335

Guillaume GEEFS (1805-1883) Large bust of Prince Louis-Philippe of Belgium, 1835. Patinated plaster. Signed and dated below the shoulder G. Geefs, 1835. He stands on a square base inscribed SAR Louis Philippe Léopold Victor Ernest, born July 24, 1833, died May 16, 1834. H.: 40 cm, L.: 15 cm. Note: Prince Louis, Philippe, Léopold, Victor, Ernest was born on July 24, 1833. He was the first child of the brand-new King of the Belgians, Leopold I, and his wife, née Princess Louise-Marie d'Orléans. The little prince, nicknamed "Babochon", died before the age of one. This was a tragedy for Leopold I, who had already lost an heir through his previous marriage to Princess Charlotte of Great Britain, heir to the British throne. A marble version of this bust has been documented. Guillaume Geefs, appointed official court sculptor, created several important monuments in Belgium, including the statue of Frédéric de Mérode in the Cathedral of Saint-Michel-et-Gudule in Brussels, the monument to General Belliard in rue Baron Horta in Brussels, the monument to the martyrs of the 1830 Revolution in Brussels, and the statue of Pieter Paul Rubens in Antwerp. Provenance: Histoire, Ader, Paris, catalog enclosed.