Style Napoleon III / Ref.5269

Joseph Chéret, Fireplace featuring two conversing women and putti

A large plaster fireplace by sculptor Joseph Chéret, designed for the dining room of the industrialist Alexis Godillot.

The jambs feature two women draped in long cloaks, positioned as if on a staircase. With gentle, idealized faces—reminiscent of Carrier-Belleuse—and hair styled in a bun, they appear to gaze at and converse with one another, while inviting the viewer to contemplate the hearth toward which they are turned.

The entablature they support bears a relief sculpture—ranging from low to high relief—depicting a banquet scene viewed from both the reception hall and the kitchens, echoing the work's original purpose. On the left, numerous putti feast around a vast cauldron tended by small cooks; one taps a barrel, while a dog briefly looks away from its bone. The right side captures the bustle of meal preparation, with many small hands moving in joyful disarray. In the foreground, a putto is knocked over by a bird he is trying to restrain—a humorous touch by the sculptor. The relief extends upward into a stone and brick hood. The variety of poses and the number of figures demonstrate the virtuosity of the execution and the richness of the composition.

This fireplace is a distinctive creation by Joseph Chéret, whose inventiveness shines through in both the overall form and the treatment of the ornamentation. The catalogue for the sale of the artist's works—held at the Hôtel Drouot from December 14 to 21, 1894, following his death—lists, among the fireplace designs created for townhouses and châteaux, a dining-room mantelpiece featuring two caryatids supporting a frieze of children at a banquet; this piece, commissioned by Alexis Godillot, can almost certainly be identified as the plasterwork in question. Godillot—a contractor from Franche-Comté who revolutionized the footwear industry in the 19th century and served as mayor of Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine from 1857 to 1870—died in 1893, shortly before the artist. Chéret kept the plaster piece in his own home in Choisy-le-Roi, where it remained until its acquisition by the Marc Maison gallery.