Pierre-Philippe Thomire

Born Dec. 6, 1751, in Paris; died there June 9, 1843. French brazier and sculptor.

Thomire, a pupil of A. Pajou and J. A. Houdon, began his artistic career by creating bronzes, ornaments for furniture (for example, a cabinet for Marie Antoinette’s jewels; 1787, the Louvre, Paris), and mountings for sévres porcelain, including his Independence Candelabrum (1785, the Louvre). He later created various works in the Empire style. These are notable for their refined form, molding, and chasing, effective contrast of patterned reliefs with smooth surfaces, and skillful, nuanced combination of polished and mat surfaces, for example, the cradle for Napoleon I’s son (executed together with J. B. Odiot, 1811). Another interesting work by Thomire is a bronze clock with statues of Minin and Pozharskii, modeled freely after the sculpture by I. P. Martos (the Hermitage, Leningrad).