Clockmaker Robert Robin and bronze worker François Rémond.
Clock known as " à l'Étude ".
Gilt bronze, patinated bronze, grey marble Saint-Anne and porcelain.
Signed " Robin " on the dial.
Circa 1790.
H. 45 - L. 57 - W. 13 cm.
This clock is derived from the model called "aux maréchaux" or "à l'Etude" created by the sculptor Louis-Simon Boizot who was inspired by a first version made for Madame Geoffrin by Laurent Guiard. The founder François Rémond gave several interpretations, including this one, for the Robin house. It differs from the more common model "aux maréchaux" because the woman and the man are inverted on the base and support their heads highlighting their concentration. It is not surmounted by an eagle as usual but by a rooster which symbolizes the work done at dawn.
A similar clock, also signed by Robin, with the same frieze of putti in the lower part, studying in different artistic and scientific disciplines, from the collection of Lady Juliet Duff, was sold in 1985 by Sotheby's. It is not surmounted by a rooster but a ship's prow.
Robin Robert (1742-1799) was one of Queen Marie-Antoinette's favorite clockmakers: the inventory of clocks belonging to the Queen, drawn up by the Temporary Arts Commission in 1794, indicates that half of the clocks belonging to her were by Robin. The talented clockmaker, received master at the young age of twenty-five, found himself, as early as 1778, under the protection of the king and his entourage ensuring him success with the Parisian high society, which increased until the end of the Ancien Régime. After the hard blow of the Revolution to his business, he managed to gather a new clientele and continued to work until his death in 1799 and the resumption of the business by his sons.
Our clock is a rare variation of a model that was a resounding success for several decades.
We can also note that the two motifs of victories on either side of the frieze are found, in Sèvres porcelain, on the clock made by Robin and Thomire for Marie-Antoinette under the inventory number GML-11352-000.
