Comprising an allegorical figure of Dance surrounded by five nymphs or bacchantes depicting the dance of Bacchus, it was commissioned for the façade of the Palais Garnier, the Paris Opera House, by the architect Charles Garnier and was initially viewed as controversial at its unveiling in 1869 due to the nakedness of the figures.
Alongside his main compositions, Carpeaux produced separate editions of elements from them to increase profitability. One of these is L’Amour à la Folie, a figure of putto holding up a puppet which reclined at the foot of the main figure of Dance in the original work.
A version of L’Amour à la Folie is to be offered in Bonhams’ European Fine Living sale in Los Angeles on April 27. The 2ft 6in (76cm) high white marble sculpture, dated to c.1873, is set on a marble pedestal to give an overall height of 6ft 6in (1.98m).
Consigned from a private Pebble Beach collection, the sculpture was acquired by the vendor from Galerie Yann Allée, having remained in the Allée family for several generations.
The estimate is $80,000-120,000.
