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Very nice inkwell Bronze signed F. Barbedienne * decoration of animals, coquiles. Nineteenth Epoque.
was a French industrialist. He is best known for his bronze foundry art reproduction. The son of a small farmer Norman, he made a first fortune in wallpaper before teaming up in 1838 with the mechanic Achille Collas (1795-1859), who had invented a process of reproduction in bronze and smaller scale art objects. In 1839, Barbedienne founded the house in which he reproduced in bronze statues of most European museums, small enough to be able to decorate the modern interiors. His idea was to democratize art by making it accessible to the faithful reproductions of masterpieces. The themes are often allegorical, and draw heavily on the ancient repertoire. Even today, it is quite common to find in the "bourgeois" Homes Barbedienne signed bronzes. He applied his methods to the work of the sculptors of his time (Barye, Fremiet, Lead, etc.) and created numerous bronze furniture models, enamel, cloisonné, tops and wooden reliefs etc. By publishing contracts that offered them, he contributed to their success by spreading their works. Being childless, his nephew and successor, Gustave Leblanc-Barbedienne, who developed the foundry specializing in monumental bronzes. In France, many memorials are signed Leblanc-Barbedienne. The quality of the casting, the chasing and patina, the Barbedienne own way made gradually, the signature of the founder has gained importance. Thanks to Ferdinand Barbedienne, the chipmaker to report sculptor became analogous to the relationship between composer and performer for music. Ferdinand Barbedienne buried in the cemetery of Pere Lachaise in Paris.
