309 - Attributed to Albert-Ernest CARRIER-BELLEUSE (1824–1887)

Attributed to Albert-Ernest CARRIER-BELLEUSE (1824–1887) Bust of Frédéric Kuhlmann (1803–1881) Carved white marble. Late 19th century, circa 1870. Height: 67 cm - Width: 60 cm - Depth: 50 cm (Small pitted marks visible, particularly on the nose) On a custom-made white marble pedestal. Total height: 82 cm Description: A leading figure in 19th-century French scientific and industrial development, Charles Frédéric Kuhlmann (1803–1881) was one of the most prominent figures in Lille’s economic life during the Second Empire. Born in Colmar and trained under the famous chemist Nicolas Vauquelin, he settled in Lille in 1824 to teach chemistry applied to the industrial arts. Having founded his first chemical manufacturing plant in 1826, he gradually built a powerful industrial empire, while playing a leading role in the scientific, economic, and political institutions of the Nord region, notably as president of the Lille Chamber of Commerce and as one of the architects of the Crédit du Nord. It was around 1870, at the height of his fame, that Kuhlmann commissioned Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse—then one of the most sought-after sculptors of the Second Empire—to create his portrait. Renowned for the virtuosity of his modeling and the elegance of his compositions, the artist also excelled in portraiture, to which he brought a naturalistic sensibility combined with a true sense of representation. Through its grandeur and the quality of its execution, the bust of Kuhlmann is part of this tradition of prestigious portraiture, intended to convey to posterity the features and dignity of a man whose influence extended far beyond the regional sphere. The version of this marble portrait, which comes from the collection of Frédéric Kuhlmann himself, is now housed at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille [Inv. No. Sc. 148]. Our copy, believed to have come from Carrier-Belleuse’s descendants, is the second known version of this portrait.