Angel for Bellini's Tomb (preparatory drawing)

Baron Marochetti (1805-1867)

Date of tomb: 1838

52 x 41.5 cm.

Source: "La Statue Disparue" (see "Source")

Caroline Hedengren-Dillon writes that in response to her article, "Les monuments funéraires de Carlo Marochetti dans les cimetières parisiens: une découverte au Père-Lachaise," which first appeared in La Tribune de l'Art in October 2013, she received some important information. This concerned an artwork which is almost certainly Marochetti's preparatory drawing for the angel that has long been missing from Vincenzo Bellini's tomb in Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. [Commentary continues below. Mouse over text for links.]

Photograph © copyright Laurent Delas, reproduced here” by kind permission.

Caroline Hedengren-Dillon's note has been summarised in English, again with kind permission,” by Jacqueline Banerjee.

Hedengren-Dillon explains that this was just the type of drawing, in sanguine, and of very high quality, that Marochetti did for other works. She also points out that traces of the kind of base shown in it can still be seen on the tomb itself. Finally, the provenance of the drawing reinforces the likelihood that this is Marochetti's work: it has been discovered in the Loiret region of France close to where Marochetti's second son, Philibert Marochetti, lived.

Additional comment: the angel, with bowed head and arms folded protectively over a now-silent instrument, is the very picture of dejection, enfolded” by wings that curve delicately forward towards the front of the base. Further proof of its connection with the monument to Bellini is, surely, the way the drawing echoes the motifs at the top of the monument — the lyre cupped within gentle curves. It is a design of great beauty, expressive of sadness at the loss of such a young musical genius. — JB.

Related Material

• Bellini's Tomb (without its mourning angel)
• (off site) "Les monuments funéraires de Carlo Marochetti dans les cimetières parisiens: une découverte au Père-Lachaise" (the original article that led to this note)

Bibliography

Hedengren-Dillon, Caroline. "La statue disparue du tombeau de Bellini au Père Lachaise: un dessin de Carlo Marochetti retrouvé?" La Tribune de l'Art. Web. 6 May 2014.

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Last modified 9 May 2014