2 - LOUIS PROST (Lyon, 1876 – Paris, 1935).

LOUIS PROST (Lyon, 1876 – Paris, 1935). "L'amour ferit," 1908. Marble. Signed and dated. Measurements: 88 x 54 x 44 cm. The work depicts a classical allegory of Cupid or Eros (L’amour) as a child or young man seated on a rock formation surrounded by reeds and aquatic vegetation. The figure is seen examining his finger or hand after having been wounded (probably by one of his own arrows or by an element of nature), a recurring theme in the neoclassical and romantic traditions that symbolizes the vulnerability of love. It stands out for the masterful contrast between the smooth, polished flesh of the child’s body and the rustic, detailed texture of the natural elements at the base (the rock, the water, and the marsh plants). Although Prost produced much of his commercial work in patinated bronze on marble bases, his monumental pieces—carved directly from a block of white marble—reflect his highest level of academic mastery and his interest in French figurative sculpture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Louis Prost (1876–1935) was a French sculptor active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, known primarily for his academic works and bronze figures. He specialized in creating detailed human and allegorical figures, primarily using patinated bronze on marble bases or plinths.