Pierre Jean David d'Angers (1788-1856) JEAN-BAPTISTE KLÉBER, 1831 Medallion. 30287

Pierre Jean David d'Angers (1788-1856) JEAN-BAPTISTE KLÉBER, 1831 Medallion. 30287

Porcelain proof, signed and dated at the bottom right and identified on the left side.
Diameter: 16 cm

France.
July Monarchy.
Very good condition, slight chip on the back edge.

NOTE:
Jean-Baptiste Kléber (1753-1800) General of the Armies of the Republic, killed in Cairo. David wrote in his notebooks: "Every great life is summed up in a dominant idea. Kléber wanted to conquer Egypt, and the Battle of Heliopolis was the realization of his dream..." The General is depicted in full action, with windblown hair, in an energetic and proud attitude. "One day," wrote Charles Blanc, pointing out to David how the hair's style was a powerful means of enhancing expression, the artist delightedly fetched the medallion of Kléber from his drawers. 'See,' he said to me, 'his hair radiates like the mask of the sun.' Catalog of the Angers Museum, 1934, page 233, n° 626. Bibliography: - The medallions of David d'Angers gathered and published by his son, General Printing of Ch. Lahure, Paris, 1867.
From the same model, plaster and bronze copies were also produced.