Ref. 1442

V. Desgeorges

Rare Pair of « Tondo » Display Dishes

Signed V. Desgeorges and dated 1891 and 1894

Painted ceramic

With wooden frame: Diam.: 58 cm (22,83 in.); Depth: 7,5 cm (2,9 in.)

A rare pair of polychrome ceramics representing two portraits in profile of young women in tondo. The first dish, dated from 1891, evokes a praying girl surrounded by a crown of butterflies and leaves on a blue background in the manner of a photograph by Nadar. The second one, from 1894, in red coat, strongly inspired by the imagery of Italian Quattrocento, is framed by acanthus leaves.

A Tondo is the representation by excellence of the Italian Renaissance. By incorporating busts of young women surrounded by decorative wreaths, V. Desgeorges get directly his inspiration in references of that period from artists such as Della Robbia, Botticelli, Masaccio, Fra Angelico or later Raphaël, who widely used this format in the depiction of religious scenes (see Madonna del Magnificat by Botticelli ; Adoration of the Magi by Fra Angelico ; Tondo of Madonna della sedia by Raphaël). A fairly large framework that evokes antiques garlands of paintings and sculptures usually surrounds the Tondo.