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Haroune Toumani (13/7/2011)
Pouvez vous me renseigner sur ce buste en plâtre, marqué à l'arrière Niente da Fare? En vous remerciant, si possible, de me déchiffrer la date. Voici quelques photos, avec des gros plans sur les inscriptions:
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Douglas Siler (12/2/2012)
J'ai retrouvé votre message en préparant une nouvelle version de ce site. Veuillez excuser cet immense retard.
En général, faute de compétence suffisante, je ne traite pas dans ce forum de sculptures qui n'ont pas de rapport avec Pradier. Je ferai pourtant une exception dans ce cas car, après quelques recherches, j'ai trouvé des indices intéressants qui pourront vous aider à mieux identifier votre buste dont le titre inscrit au dos est bien, comme vous l'avez lu, Niente da Fare.
Si je n'arrive pas à déchiffrer l'inscription sur la 6e photo ci-dessus, à gauche, il me semble par contre que les autres peuvent se lire comme suit:
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M. Castan
Bruxelles
1886
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Or, compte tenu du lieu et de la date, il est très possible que l'inscription M. Castan se réfère à un musée, le Musée Castan, créé à Bruxelles vers 1880. Le grand historien des rues de Bruxelles, Jean d'Osta, en parle longuement dans son livre Notre Bruxelles oublié (Rossel Éditions, 1977). Ainsi, lorsque la maison qui l'abritait fut démolie en 1888 pour faire place au nouvel hôtel des Postes et des Télégraphes, place de la Monnaie, sa collection fut transportée au Musée du Nord, autre musée éphémère installé en 1881 dans le Passage du Nord qui relie la place de Brouckère à la rue Neuve.
En fait, ce Musée du Nord était à peu près ce que nous appellerions aujourd'hui un « complexe culturel », avec des salles d'exposition diverses, des salles de théâtre et de concert, un cabinet de lecture, un jardin d'hiver, un buffet, etc. Le Musée Castan, lui, était surtout un musée de cire, que l'on comparait au fameux Musée Grévin de Paris. « Le sieur Castan, écrit Jean d'Osta, s'était taillé une belle réputation dans "l'art de donner à des mannequins de cire l'apparence saisissante de la vie et la ressemblance absolue avec des personnes illustres". [...] Au nouveau Musée Castan aménagé dans le Musée du Nord, il n'en coûtait qu'un franc pour pouvoir contempler le Pape, les reines d'Angleterre et de Hollande, les empereurs d'Autriche, du Japon et de Perse et une dizaine de rois, sans parler de personnages moins impressionnants, comme Alphonse Daudet, Gladstone ou Camille Flammarion. »
Lorsque la dernière salle de théâtre installée dans ce « complexe » périclita en 1908, les locaux furent incorporés à l'Hôtel Métropole. Cet hôtel existe toujours, de même que le Passage du Nord où l'on peut lire encore l'inscription « Musée du Nord » au-dessus de son entrée côté place de Brouckère. « Mais que sont donc devenus, se demande Jean d'Osta, les rois, les empereurs et le pape que les Bruxellois allaient admirer pour un franc au célèbre Musée Castan? Leurs augustes images de cire survivent-elles chez quelque brocanteur ou dans quelque grenier, plus durables que leur souvenir dans la mémoire des hommes? »
A ces propos on peut ajouter que le célèbre sculpteur belge Jef Lambeaux (1852-1908), après une première exposition à Bruxelles en 1875 et un bref séjour à Paris, « revient à Bruxelles et n'y subsiste que grâce à une curiosité aujourd'hui disparue: le musée Castan, installé au passage du Nord, entre une salle des fêtes où se produisent des phénomènes vivants et une exposition de postures de cire. Engagé pour sculpter ces figures à la Tussaud, Lambeaux en est réduit à représenter des profils royaux et des faciès d'assassins... » (Archives du journal belge Le Soir, jeudi 7 août 1997.)
Votre buste serait-il un moulage d'une des figures de cire modelées par Lambeaux ou par quelque autre sculpteur pour le Musée Castan? un portrait du fondateur de ce musée? Des recherches plus poussées permettront peut-être d'identifier son auteur et le personnage qu'il représente.
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Angelika Friederici (Berlin, 11/6/2013)
Ich bin Diplom-Historikerin und erarbeite und publiziere seit einigen Jahren eine wissenschaftliche Monografie in einzelnen Themenheften zu « Castan´s Panopticum. Ein Medium wird besichtigt » im Berliner Ein-Mann-Verlag Karl-Robert Schütze.
Bei den Castans handelte es sich um eine Berliner Bildhauerfamilie, Nachfahren hugenottischer Einwanderer, die über Generationen hinweg
vielfältig künstlerisch tätig war. Am bekanntesten sind Gustav Castan (Berlin 1836 - Berlin 1899) und Louis Castan (Berlin 1828 - Berlin 1908), und auch deren Neffe Moritz (Maurice) Castan (Berlin 1849 - Bruxelles 1895). Moritz stand in enger geschäftlicher Zusammenarbeit mit seinen beiden Berliner Onkel, und seit ca. 1878 (?) seinem eigenen Panoptikum in Brüssel vor. Wenn möglich, möchte ich gern über diese Geschäftskontakte und das Brüsseler Castan´sche Unternehmen arbeiten, bin noch auf der Suche nach Material. Gern können Sie sich auf meiner homepage www.castans-panopticum.de über den Stand der Arbeiten und die weiteren Planungen informieren.
Gern möchte ich Sie fragen, an wen ich mich wenden kann, wenn ich genauere Informationen suche über den heutigen Besitzer und den heutigen Standort der auf Ihrer Seite gezeigten Plastik "Niente da fare" von Maurice Castan, signiert in Bruxelles 1886. Können Sie mir hier weiterhelfen?
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Douglas Siler (12/6/2013)
Merci beaucoup pour ces informations. Si, d'un côté, je peux lire l'allemend, de l'autre il m'est difficile de l'écrire. Puis-je donc vous répondre en anglais ou en français et, si oui, lequel préférez-vous?
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Angelika Friederici (Berlin, 13/6/2013)
Englisch wäre besser, vielen Dank.
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Douglas Siler (14/8/2013)
I am so sorry for this late reply, due to a busy summer schedule.
Unfortunately Mr. Toumani did not indicate where he is located but a Google search on his name gives his address in southern France. I'll forward it to you separately.
As I mentioned in my reply to him, the building which housed the Castan museum in downtown Brussels is still standing and the inscription « Musée du Nord » is still visible on its façade. I only quoted Jean d’Osta’s book, Notre Bruxelles oublié, about this museum but other material might exist in the Brussels municipal archives or in the Belgium national archives. However, after replying to Mr. Toumani I did find some additional information on the internet but never got around to adding it to this discussion. Among other things, I ran across your very interesting website on the Castan Panopticum. I also discovered that a number of the Castans’ figures were on exhibit at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair commemorating the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the New World. You can read a detailed article about this fair on Wikipedia. There’s also a Wikipedia article about the Midway Plaisance park where part of it took place. The Castan exhibit itself is described in a work compiled by Frank H. Smith, Midway Plaisance and the World's Columbian Exposition (The Foster Press, Chicago, 1983). The paper version includes numerous illustrations (described in the introduction as « absolutely perfect reproductions of the various scenes, having been made from photographs especially taken for this work ») but these are not available in the digitalized version. You may want to peruse the entire work online if you don’t know it already but I’ll quote here the lines concerning the Moorish Palace where the Castan figures were shown:
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On the first floor is located the Palm Garden, a veritable forest of genuine palm trees, representing a great many varieties of this queen of trees. The scene is one of true Oriental beauty. The effect is enhanced by groups of Arabs, among whom a Bedouin chief, in arms and armor, and many other figures as natural as life. Here also is seen a well of apparently fathomless depths and many more pleasing features. Entering next the Moorish Castle is a representation of the world famed "Alhamhra," the "enchanted palace." The architectural effects are unparalleled. Away from the beholder stretch endless colonnades, capped by graceful arches, all in gold and brilliant colors. This castle with its many and various parts is a perfect labyrinth. In one of its parts is located the Harem (…) On the second floor of the Palace are found groups and scenes, each upon a separate stage, set with appropriate scenic decorations. All wax figures and scenery are furnished by the celebrated sculptors, Louis and Gustav Castan, of Berlin, and the collection here shown is really a reproduction of the world-famed Castan's Panopticum, of Berlin. "The
Assassination of Lincoln," "Luther in the Midst of His Family," "Louis Castan, the Sculptor, in His Studio," "A Moorish Execution," "Niente da fare," "The Fountain of Perennial Youth," "Behind the Scenes," "The Poacher," "Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the Well," "Robert Koch in His Laboratory," " Little Red Riding Hood," "The Sleeping Beauty," "On Guard," "The Dying Zouave," "Public Punishment of Scolds in the Middle Ages," etc., etc., besides a complete Gallery of Reigning Monarchs, Statesmen, Poets, Artists, etc. In a separate room on the west side of the gallery, is shown a diorama representing the scene of the Execution of Marie Antoinette, showing the Scaffold and Guillotine used in her execution. Certificates authenticating the genuiness of the same are exhibited at the entrance to this room. (…)
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As you can see, Niente da fare was one of the wax figures on exhibit. Do you have any further information about this work, who it represents or what it symbolises? The existence of a plaster version in Mr. Toumani’s collection indicates that it must have attained a certain popularity and that other copies were probably in circulation.
I also ran across the following web pages, which you probably know already:
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I hope you will find this information useful. Once again, please forgive the long delay.
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Douglas Siler (14/8/2013)
Continuing my research on the internet, I ran across these photos of the “Moorish Palace” where the Castan figures were on exhibit at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.
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I also found two more descriptions of the Moorish Palace which mention the Castan exhibit. The first is in the Official Guide to Midway Plaisance, pp. 34-36:
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MOORISH PALACE
Official Guide No. 37. Restaurant and Concert Hall, first floor, free; admission fees: Theater, 25 cents; Labyrinth and Wax Works, 25 cents: Execution of Marie Antoinette, 10 cents additional; Optical Illusion,15 cents additional.
The building was designed by August Fiedler, a Chicago Architect. It is a beautiful reproduction of Moorish architecture. The palm garden with its continuous labyrinth, copied from the famous Alhambra at
Granada, is one of the leading attractions, but the splendid appointments, elaborate decorations, and fine groups in wax which picture the
palace as it stood in the days of the Arabian owners recall to the visitor
vividly the pen pictures of Washington Irving. As the visitor steps
into the palm garden he finds himself in what appears to be a boundless
space. Far as the eye can reach the ingeniously arranged mirrors create the illusion of endless rows of stately palms, casting their shade
over hundreds of life-like figures in the gaudy costumes of the lords of
the desert. Groups of men and women, talking, lounging or amusing
themselves, each group multiplied again and again in the perspective of
mirrors, are seen on every side. Tiring of this he finds his way out by
the aid of a guide. The transition is into a fairyland filled with startling surprises. The first thing which impresses the observer within the
palace are the elaborate decorations. He is in a maze of Alabaster-like
columns, stretching away in long vistas. The columns are covered with
curious hieroglyphics and support a dome and arched ceiling reflecting
from its mother of pearl a softly radiant light. Standing on the tiled floor of mosaics, the visitor may cast his eves upward, and admire the
delicate filigree in gold, purple and silver, sweeping in flowing lines,
here and there gracefully crossing and forming an intricate net-work of
beautiful curves. From the arch depend pretty little stalactites, in gilt,
producing a very pleasant effect on the pearly back-ground. Stepping
on through the mystic passages, the visitor suddenly catches a glimpse
of landscape through what appears to be an oval window. It is really
the effect of the omnipresent mirror and the charming stretch of beach
and deceptive foam-capped waves is but the reflection from a concealed
painting. Turning about, another window on the other side of the
palace exposes to view a ravine-cleft mountain, with leaping cascades.
Another step, and the holy of holies appears – a realistic group in the
innermost recesses of the harem, a sheik surrounded by his favorites.
The central figure is the brawny chieftain himself, for the moment at
luxurious ease. For his amusement an odalisque is tripping through a dance.
The favorite wife, a beauty with pink cheeks, plump arms and
long dark tresses, has fallen asleep, with her head resting on her lord's
knee. The figures are of wax, of course, but are very realistic. You
meet with a life-like black eunich, who is supposed to guard the
way to the harem. Coming out of the Magic Maze you find a crowd
gazing into a Bottomless Well. After you have gazed into its depths to your
satisfation, an opening in a ledge of rock meets your sight and entering
it you find yourself in a cave. The walls of the Cave glitter like so many
diamonds, and as you turn your eyes upward the sight of a group of devils
makes you start. There, in a hole in the rocks above, a lot of red imps are
staring at you. The "Birth of the Harp" can also be found in one of the cave's cool passage-ways. Next a small flight of stairs is ascended and you find yourself in
a Monster Kaleidoscope where you see one thousand people standing around you. From here you descend and ascend the broad staircase of the palace to the floors above, in which are collected some of
the finest Wax Works ever seen in this country. These are from the
Berlin Panopticon, and are almost in every instance true to life itself.
The first thing that greets your eyes is a sign reading, "Please do not talk to the Wax Figures." The Panopticon will entertain you for an hour or more. There are
Emperers and Empresses, Kings and Queens, distinguished Men and
Women and many pathetic and humorous groups. For an extra fee of 10 cents you are admitted into a small chamber where you find a most
Realistic representation of the Place de Revolution (now the Place de
la Concorde) of Paris, France, as it appeared on the 16th day of October,
1793 (one hundred years ago), just before the execution of Marie
Antoinette. The guillotine on which hundreds of lives were sacrificed
during the Reign of Terror, stands before you. On the scaffold, erect
and beautiful, is the unfortunate Queen, who has just been carted to
her fate. The executioner and his assistant are at her side; below the
steps are the guard, near the block is the basket to catch her head; in
the back-ground is the Parisian mob, the red caps of the commune being
prominent in the angry, maddened crowd. The picture is an awfully beautiful one, and should be seen by all. In another chamber, for an
additional sum of 15 cents, you may behold something in the line of
Optical Illusions that will afford you food for thought. There are
three of these, and they are presented with astonishing skill. In the
Theaters some very creditable performances and concerts are given. The
Moravian orchestras are excellent, and the girls are perhaps the most
beautiful to be seen on the Plaisance. Altogether the Moorish Palace
is worthy of patronage. There is nothing to be seen here that woman and
children cannot thoroughly enjoy.
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The second is in a work intitled The Best Things to Be Seen at the World's Fair by John J. Flinn (Chicago, The Columbian Guide Company, 1893), pp. 175-177:
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MIDWAY PLAISANCE was formerly a strip of wooded land one mile in length and six hundred feet wide, connecting Jackson with Washington park. It was a
shady drive, and very popular. It is now covered from one end to the other with attractions which are not a part of the Exposition proper, although they add much to the pleasure of visitors. These attractions are referred to in the following pages. (...)
MOORISH PALACE.
The building was designed by August Fiedler, a Chicago architect. It is a beautiful reproduction of Moorish architecture. The palm garden with its continuous labyrinth, copied from the famous Alhambra at Grenada, is one of the leading attractions, but the splendid appointments, elaborate decorations, and fine groups in wax which picture the palace as it stood in the days of
the Arabian owners recalls to the visitor vividly the pen pictures of Washington Irving. As the visitor steps into the palm garden he finds himself in what appears to be a boundless space. Far as the eye can reach the ingeniously arranged mirrors create the illusion of endless rows of stately palms, casting their shades over hundreds of life-like figures in the gaudy costumes of the lords of the desert. Groups of men and women, talking, lounging or amusing themselves, each group multiplied again and again in the perspective of mirrors, are seen on every side. Tiring of this he finds his way out by the aid of a guide. The transition is into a fairyland filled with startling surprises. The first thing which impresses the observer within the palace are the elaborate decorations. He is in a maze of Alabaster-like columns, stretching away in long vistas. The columns are covered with curious hieroglyphics and support a dome and arched ceiling reflecting from its mother of pearl a softly radiant light. Standing on the tiled floor of mosiacs, the visitor may cast his eyes upward, and admire the delicate filigree in gold, purple and silver, sweeping in flowing lines here and there gracefully crossing and forming an intricate network of beautiful curves. From the arch depend pretty little stalactites, in gilt, producing a very pleasant effect on the pearly back ground. Stepping on through the mystic passages, the visitor suddenly catches a glimpse of landscape through what appears to be an oval window. It is really the effect of the omnipresent mirror and the charming stretch of beach and deceptive foam-capped waves is but the reflection from a concealed painting. Turning about, another window on the other side of the palace exposes to view a ravine-cleft mountain, with leaping cascades. Another step, and the holy of holies appears – a realistic group in the innermost recesses of the Harem, a sheik surrounded by his favorites. The central figure is the brawny chieftain himself, for the moment at luxurious ease. For his amusement an odalisque is tripping through a dance. The favorite wife, a beauty with pink cheeks, plump arms and long dark tresses has fallen asleep, with her head resting on her lord's knee. The figures are in wax, of course, but are very realistic. In an upper hall is contained the
Panopticon, a collection of artistic and historical figures, depicting scenes from history and life of the present day.
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Finally, you will find a useful resource about the fair at http://columbus.iit.edu.
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