PO Box 2135
Asheville, NC 28802
United States
Based in Asheville, North Carolina, Brunk Auctions has been conducting sales of fine and decorative arts for over 30 years. Auctions are held in our North Carolina sale room but attracts a global audience. Founded by Robert Brunk in 1983, the auctions became well known for their integrity and profes...Read more
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Sep 26, 2024
(born Ghent, active Paris/New York, circa 1868-1882)
Bust of Free Man, signed on proper left edge of base "Blezer", patinated bronze, 23-1/2 x 21 x 14 in. (56.69 x 53.34 cm.)
Provenance: Private Collection
Note: Born into a noble family in Ghent, Belgium, Joseph Charles de Blezer traveled to Paris to pursue a career in sculpture and the decorative arts. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts with Jean-Baptiste Clesinger and exhibited regularly at the official salon from 1863 to 1881. De Blezer's colossal plaster bust of the great American abolitionist John Brown (1800-1859) was exhibited in the Salon of 1870. A bronze cast of this work was purchased in Paris in 1976 by a trustee of Oberlin College. It was a gift to the college, where it remains on view to this day. This bust of a handsome man, possibly Mulatto, was, perhaps, inspired by the abolitionist movement in the United States and in France in the mid-Nineteenth Century. In it, de Blezer used a compositional device similar to the one used in his portrait of John Brown; however, instead of a rope wrapped around the collar of the shirt, there is a scarf loosely draped around the unbuttoned collar. The young man stares directly at the viewer, with a look of confidence. He appears to be a man of quiet elegance and is depicted by de Blezer in a manner that recalls the work of the Renaissance sculptor Alessandro Vittoria (Trent 1525-1628 Venice)
Private Collection
Purchased items will be available for pick up or shipping from our Asheville, North Carolina auction facility within ten business days of the auction will be assessed a storage fee of $5.00 per day, per item. Purchaser agrees that packing and shipping is done at the purchaser's risk and that the purchaser will pay in advance all packing expenses, materials, carrier fees and insurance charges. At our discretion, items will either be packed by an agent such as a packaging store or Brunk Auctions. Please allow two weeks for shipping after payment is received. Shipment of large items is the responsibility of the purchaser. We are happy to provide names of carriers and shippers if a purchaser so requests. Brunk Auctions will have no liability for any loss or damage to shipped items.
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