Jean RIVIÈRE (1853-1924) - ÉCOLE TOULOUSAINE "Théodora" the model designed around [1891], the face and finery of the Byzantine empress reputed to be inspired by those of Sarah Bernhardt in Victorien Sardou's eponymous play created in 1884. High-relief and applique sculpture. Cast aluminum with double patina; silver, gold. Late 19th century, early 20th century. Unsigned. H.: 78 cm, W.: 54.5 cm, D.: 15 cm. (Alterations to the patina, one of the birds is missing the tip of its beak). It should be noted that this sculpture, of which only 3 metal proofs are known to date, has often been mistakenly credited to Théodore Rivière, another great sculptor and contemporary of our artist. Provenance: Important Art Nouveau collection from Bordeaux. Exhibition : Exposition de l'Union Artistique, Toulouse, 1891 - A plaster proof of our sculpture model presented at this event. Public collections : Musée des Augustins, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Toulouse - A plaster proof with a polychrome and gilded patina is preserved in this institution under inventory number 2018 6 1 (Provenance Sale Sotheby's June 21, 2018 number 182). History: Following the success of Victorien Sardou's play, Théodora, embodied in the theater by Sarah Bernhardt, became a veritable icon in the 1880s and 1890s. It's likely that the reading of her complex personality, somewhere between saint and prostitute, made her a free and powerful woman, made her a woman of freedom and power well ahead of her time; the choice of the actress to take on her features proved to be the many similarities between the two women. Jean Rivière, sculptor from Toulouse in 1891, at the Union Artistique exhibition, a Florentine medallion, echoing his great elders. The artist had trained at the École de Beaux-Arts in Toulouse, eventually eventually teaching ornamental sculpture. In addition to local exhibitions, he participated in the Salon des Artistes Français from 1882 to 1896.