Jean Baptiste Racine

Jean Baptiste Racine (1639 – 1699) was a French poet and playwright. The bronze, miniature bust shows him in his old age, wearing a wig. He has an oval face with prominent cheekbones, a straight nose, and wide brows. His shirt is unbuttoned at the neck, and he is wearing a coat. The bust is placed on a support consisting of a gilded bronze pedestal, a cylindrical marble shaft (missing a metal chain), and a gilded bronze base. The author of the bust is not known. It was most likely created by a French sculptor. The sculpture was created at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. It adorns the mantel in the bedroom of the State Apartment, together with a second miniature bronze bust depicting Jean de la Fontaine on an identical stand (inventory number S.11737 MŁ). Barbara Trojnar