May 2017 Decorative Arts
Samson wrestling the lion and judgement of Salomon
Two reliefs subtly carved in a fine white limestone. On one, the biblical hero Samson tears with his hands the mouth of the lion, which he crushes under his knee. On the other one, king Salomon solves the conflict between two women who quarrel a child. These two scenes, whose more or less latent violence is moderated by the balance of the compositions, embody respectively Strength and Justice.
Carved by Desjardins, one of the best sculptors of Louis XIV’s reign togetherwith Girardon, Puget and the Coustou brothers, these reliefs fit into the vast decoration of the portal of the former Parisian church of Saint-Caherine-du-Val-des-Écoliers.
Martin VAN DEN BOGAERT said DESJARDINS (Breda, 1637 - Paris, 1694)
Samson wrestling the Lion and Judgement of Salomon
1662
Limestone
78 x 120 cm
FGA-AD-BA-0002 and FGA-AD-BA-0003
Provenance
Portal of the church Sainte-Catherine-du-Val-des-Écoliers, Paris (destroyed in 1783)
Galerie François Antonovitch, Paris, around 1995