Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux's early works, known collectively as his oeuvres de jeunesse, are among a limited number currently housed in public and private collections and remain in part unidentified in his own records and those of his daughter. Monsieurs Poletti and Richarme classify a selection of these rarely-seen works under the heading 'objets décoratifs' and repeatedly refer to their intended ornamental use as travaux pour le commerce (works for the trade). Examples of the artist's earliest edited works are believed to be conceived circa 1850 and later edited by established bronziers, such as Graux-Marly, for use as decorative objects or garnitures de cheminées (M. Poletti & A. Richarme, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux: Sculpteur, catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre édité, 2003, p. 31).
This extraordinary group relates directly to a pair of early allegorical figures, also cast by Graux-Marly and categorized as 'objets décoratifs' in the artist's oeuvre (see M. Poletti & A. Richarme, 2003, pp. 175-177). The original models, emblematic of Night (Venus et l'Amour) and Day (Apollon et l'Amour), were almost certainly conceived en suite for a large garniture centered by this impressive group of Aurora dramatically ushering in the dawn from darkness. Though the original modèle for the present lot is not recorded in the catalogue raisonné, the repetitious use of various decorative devices immediately reveals Carpeaux's hand. The movement, modeling and relative proportions of the figures, particularly the winged putti charmingly rendered with ribboned headbands, are consistently employed throughout, and the expressive use of swirling clouds and billowing drapery unite the three parts in one harmonious procession. While examples of the central group have not appeared at auction recently, figures of Night and Day were sold Christie's, New York, 24 April 2002, lot 167 and a single figure of Night, again cast by Graux-Marly and shown with an identical gadrooned edge beneath the swirling cloud base, was sold Sotheby's, New York, 21 October 2008, lot 55.
Interestingly, the artist would make a clear departure in form and function in later endeavors; however references to the works of his youth works appear in a number of civil commissions throughout his celebrated years as sculpteur-éditeur in the1860s. An intriguing comparison may be made between this group and Carpeaux's 1867 design for the Fontaine de l'Observatoire located in the Jardin du Luxembourg, both of which incorporate seemingly identical rearing horses.