Tyrolean Boy
Artist
Marque, Albert Henri Justin
(French, 1872 - 1939)
Artist
Margaine-LaCroix, Jeanne Victorine
(French, 1868 - 1930)
Manufacturer
Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres
(French, founded 1738)
Date1915
OriginFrance
MediumPainted bisque, glass eyes, human hair
Dimensions22 in. (55.9 cm)
ClassificationsDoll
Credit LineGift of Carolyn K. and Richard F. Barry III
Object number2017.168
Label TextAlbert Henri Justin Marque, (French, 1872-1939, sculptor)
Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres (French, 1738-present; head, arms, and legs)
Jeanne Victorine Margaine-LaCroix (French, 1868-1930, costume)
Tyrolean Boy
Marked: “A. MARQUE 27” on nape of neck; clothes labelled “Margaine Lacroix/ 19. Boulevard Haussmann, Paris”
Painted bisque, glass eyes, human hair; 1915
Gift of Carolyn K. and Richard F. Barry III
During World War I, the established French sculptor Albert Marque was commissioned by the revolutionary Parisian couture fashion house of Jeanne Margaine-LaCroix to sculpt the head for a limited series of one hundred large dolls, which were then clothed in custom-made outfits by the Paris fashion house. Boy dolls, such as this one, were the rarest models of the series. The dolls were made for adults rather than as toys for children, with an overt patriotic intent in their creation that reflected the political climate in Paris at the time.
It was Madame Margaine-LaCroix who suggested the model to Marque: she had found a photographic postcard with a particularly compelling young girl in a garden, named Charlotte. Marque sculpted several versions of the girl’s bust in clay — the marquette of the full-size doll is today in the Musée d’Arts Décoratifs in Paris.
The dolls were dressed in clothes representing historic royalty or traditional costumes. All Marque dolls were of the same height, and had the same body. The heads for both girls and boys were also made from the same mold, their features sharp and well defined and the ears protruding like those of a real child. In 1915, these dolls were exhibited in Paris and many were sold, while others remained in the Margaine-Lacroix inventory.
Status
On view
Rochard, Antoine Edmond (French, b. 1836)
about 1868