ƒ Jean-Pierre Cortot (1787-1843), attributed to L'Agriculture et la Navigation Terracotta Vers 1835 H. 50 cm Provenance: Stephen Higgons Collection, Paris, November 20, 1961; Peter W. Josten Collection, New York and Princeton, NJ; By descent This spectacular double-sided display model is undoubtedly the result of a public statuary project: its highly concentrated monumentality and spectacular iconography are intended to arouse surprise and admiration. On one side, a young woman represents Agriculture; she is surrounded by a sickle, a sieve for sowing grain and abundant harvests. A tutelary figure wearing an Egyptian nemesis recalls the Egyptomania of the 1830s, tempered by a bust inspired by statues of Apollo in radiant sunlight. On the other side, a figure symbolizing Navigation pours water from two amphorae, accompanied by her traditional attributes of marine compass and rudder, modeled to her left. Stylistically comparable to the statues made by Cortot around 1835, this double allegory echoes the decorative monumentality of the seated figures of the cities of Rouen and Brest made in 1836 for the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The hieratic faces derive directly from the neoclassicism in vogue at the turn of the century, while the bodies with their very round arms and legs and this taste for ornamental motifs are typical of Cortot. Our terracotta is also closely related to the Triomphe de Napoleon I bas-relief sculpted in 1836 for the Arc de Triomphe: a lavish composition, neoclassicism tempered by a pronounced taste for detail, and a clear desire for decorativeness. The winged figures of Navigation and Victory crowning Napoleon are both modeled on the same cannon, while the figure of Agriculture, firmly planted on its feet, recalls Napoleon's powerful cannon. Favorite artist of the Salon, academician, teacher at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Cortot led a brilliant career and multiplied public commissions. He was involved in decorating the Palais du Louvre, the Palais de Justice and the Palais Bourbon, but also worked in Calais, Marseille and Bordeaux. His neoclassical style, solemn as much as decorative, characterizes French statuary of the first half of the 19th century.
