Self-Portrait as a Sphinx (Primary Title)
Self-Portrait of a Sphinx (Former Title)
Sarah Bernhardt, French, 1844 - 1923 (Artist)
Thiébaut Frères, French (Paris), 1844 - 1926 (Foundry)
Though she is most well known as an actress, Sarah Bernhardt was an equally talented painter and sculptor. In this self-portrait, a supernatural Bernhardt appears wearing masks of Tragedy and Comedy on each shoulder, alluding to the actress’s ability to transform into different characters. This sculptural inkwell also relates to her role as the female lead, Blanche de Chelles, in the 1880 play Le Sphinx. When the play was on tour, a cast of this work was displayed in each city where Bernhardt performed.
Art Nouveau --Symbolist
Inscribed (base, right side): SARAH. BERNHARDT / 1880; (base, back, left)(within roundel): Thiebaut Freres Fondeurs Paris
Foundry mark (within roundel): "Thiébaut Frères Fondeurs Paris" stamped on back, side of base
Gift of the Fabergé Society of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
(similar example) exhibition at Union League Club of New York "Sarah Bernhardt Souvenir, including the Authorised Catalogue of Her Paintings and Sculpture," 1880
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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