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Galerie Léage
Robert Osmond
MANTEL CLOCK REPRESENTING THE ABDUCTION OF EUROPA
This clock in gilt and patinated bronze features the abduction of Europa.
Height: 55,2 cm – 21 3⁄4 inches Width: 44,5 cm – 17 1⁄2 inches Depth: 21,5 cm – 8 1⁄2 inches
description
The bull clock craze
The 18th century, especially the reign of Louis XV, was marked by a strong infatuation with exoticism, faraway lands and their wildlife. This fascination was expressed in particular in the vogue for chinoiseries and animal clocks (elephants, dromedaries, rhinoceroses, lions, etc.). The latter, introduced to France by the King of Siam, who gifted some to Louis XIV in 1686, quickly inspired bronzemakers.
Although more discreet, the appeal of European fauna remains, especially when it can be linked to mythological iconography, as in the case of the bull. The greatest bronzemakers of the period, led by Robert Osmond and Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain, seized on this theme and applied it to a wide range of decorative effects. The clock signed by De Saint-Germain, with a dial by Gilles L'Aîné, kept in Madame Victoire’s Grand Cabinet at the Château de Versailles (deposited with the Musée du Louvre in 1975), features two young women beside a bull. It was already there in 1784, as mentioned in the Inventaire des Pendules du Roy [Inventory of the King’s Clocks] drawn up the same year: “a mantelpiece clock in ormolu representing the Abduction of Europa, 21 inches high and 18 inches wide”.
Our model uses the same motif, although here the bull is pointing to the right, whereas the one in the Louvre, signed Saint-Germain, is pointing to the left.
Robert Osmond (1711-1789)
Robert Osmond (1711-1789) can be considered one of the most important Parisian bronzemakers of the second half of the 18th century.
Born in Normandy, in Canisy, near Saint-Lô in 1711, Robert Osmond apprenticed in the workshop of Louis Regnard, Master foundryman in earth and sand, and was awarded the title of Master foundry-carver in 1746. Recognized by his peers, he was appointed a juror of his guild in 1756.
In 1753, his nephew Jean-Baptiste Osmond (1742-after 1790) left Normandy to join him. Appointed Master in 1764, he worked alongside his uncle after this date; their collaboration was so close that it is difficult to distinguish between the contributions of one and the other. All the more so as they used the same hallmark, even though few 18th-century bronze objects have been signed. Bronzemakers Jacques Caffieri and Jean-Claude Duplessis in the first half of the century, and Etienne Martincourt, Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain and Robert and Jean-Baptiste Osmond in the second half, contravened this rule by affixing their hallmarks to works they had invented and executed themselves, either on the piece or in a suitable cartouche.
Robert Osmond's activity dates from the late 1740s to the mid-1770s, since in 1781 he was appointed former Master foundryman. Jean-Baptiste, who continued to run the workshop after his uncle's departure, soon ran into difficulties and went bankrupt in 1784. His uncle Robert died in 1789.
Prolific bronzemakers and chiselers, first making their mark in the Rocaille style in the early 1760s, the Osmonds were able to adapt to the new Neoclassical style.
Although they produced all kinds of furniture bronzes (andirons, wall lights and inkwells), they are best known for having left their name on a fairly large number of clocks and cartels, whose movements were entrusted to the greatest watchmakers of the time, such as Jacques Lepaute, Ferdinand Berthoud, Julien Le Roy, Jacques Lepaute and Robert Robin.
Their work was particularly prized by collectors and aristocrats. The famous financier Beaujon and the Duc de Choiseul-Praslin owned clocks and cartels from their production. They also worked for one of the greatest marchand-mercier of the 18th century, M. Lazare-Duvaux, and, through him, supplied Louis XV with pieces for the Château de Saint-Hubert and the Château des Tuileries. Today, their clocks can be found in some of the world's greatest museums, including the Louvre in Paris, the Château de Versailles and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
Evocative of the Osmonds' talent, this clock illustrates their ability to invent new models in line with the current craze for clocks with animal motifs. The chasing also testifies to the excellence of the work of these artists, who reached the highest level of mastery of their art.
The 18th century, especially the reign of Louis XV, was marked by a strong infatuation with exoticism, faraway lands and their wildlife. This fascination was expressed in particular in the vogue for chinoiseries and animal clocks (elephants, dromedaries, rhinoceroses, lions, etc.). The latter, introduced to France by the King of Siam, who gifted some to Louis XIV in 1686, quickly inspired bronzemakers.
Although more discreet, the appeal of European fauna remains, especially when it can be linked to mythological iconography, as in the case of the bull. The greatest bronzemakers of the period, led by Robert Osmond and Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain, seized on this theme and applied it to a wide range of decorative effects. The clock signed by De Saint-Germain, with a dial by Gilles L'Aîné, kept in Madame Victoire’s Grand Cabinet at the Château de Versailles (deposited with the Musée du Louvre in 1975), features two young women beside a bull. It was already there in 1784, as mentioned in the Inventaire des Pendules du Roy [Inventory of the King’s Clocks] drawn up the same year: “a mantelpiece clock in ormolu representing the Abduction of Europa, 21 inches high and 18 inches wide”.
Our model uses the same motif, although here the bull is pointing to the right, whereas the one in the Louvre, signed Saint-Germain, is pointing to the left.
Robert Osmond (1711-1789)
Robert Osmond (1711-1789) can be considered one of the most important Parisian bronzemakers of the second half of the 18th century.
Born in Normandy, in Canisy, near Saint-Lô in 1711, Robert Osmond apprenticed in the workshop of Louis Regnard, Master foundryman in earth and sand, and was awarded the title of Master foundry-carver in 1746. Recognized by his peers, he was appointed a juror of his guild in 1756.
In 1753, his nephew Jean-Baptiste Osmond (1742-after 1790) left Normandy to join him. Appointed Master in 1764, he worked alongside his uncle after this date; their collaboration was so close that it is difficult to distinguish between the contributions of one and the other. All the more so as they used the same hallmark, even though few 18th-century bronze objects have been signed. Bronzemakers Jacques Caffieri and Jean-Claude Duplessis in the first half of the century, and Etienne Martincourt, Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain and Robert and Jean-Baptiste Osmond in the second half, contravened this rule by affixing their hallmarks to works they had invented and executed themselves, either on the piece or in a suitable cartouche.
Robert Osmond's activity dates from the late 1740s to the mid-1770s, since in 1781 he was appointed former Master foundryman. Jean-Baptiste, who continued to run the workshop after his uncle's departure, soon ran into difficulties and went bankrupt in 1784. His uncle Robert died in 1789.
Prolific bronzemakers and chiselers, first making their mark in the Rocaille style in the early 1760s, the Osmonds were able to adapt to the new Neoclassical style.
Although they produced all kinds of furniture bronzes (andirons, wall lights and inkwells), they are best known for having left their name on a fairly large number of clocks and cartels, whose movements were entrusted to the greatest watchmakers of the time, such as Jacques Lepaute, Ferdinand Berthoud, Julien Le Roy, Jacques Lepaute and Robert Robin.
Their work was particularly prized by collectors and aristocrats. The famous financier Beaujon and the Duc de Choiseul-Praslin owned clocks and cartels from their production. They also worked for one of the greatest marchand-mercier of the 18th century, M. Lazare-Duvaux, and, through him, supplied Louis XV with pieces for the Château de Saint-Hubert and the Château des Tuileries. Today, their clocks can be found in some of the world's greatest museums, including the Louvre in Paris, the Château de Versailles and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
Evocative of the Osmonds' talent, this clock illustrates their ability to invent new models in line with the current craze for clocks with animal motifs. The chasing also testifies to the excellence of the work of these artists, who reached the highest level of mastery of their art.
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