Dome

Detail, statue without base, from back; Astruc was a French sculptor, painter, poet, and art critic. He was an important figure in the cultural life of France in the second half of the 19th century, and participated in the first Impressionist exhibition of 1874 and also in the Exposition Universelle of 1900. The Mask Seller allowed him to array portraits of 9 authors, artists and composers at the base; Léon Gambetta, Corot, Dumas fils, Hector Berlioz, Jean-Batiste Carpeaux, Gabriel Fauré, Eugène Delacroix, Honoré de Balzac, and Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly. In his left hand the Mask Seller holds the portrait of Victor Hugo. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com/ (accessed 5/20/2013)