Gather Vassé's \ Compiled By Bernard Black Contained In Copy

greatest claim to glory is perhaps his really exquisite children's busts, . which herald and at times equal the delightful child portraits of Houden, " This appreciation, by Louis Reau in, typifies general opinion in the early decades of the century, when LouisClaude VassT 's child portraits enchanted collectors and art historians by their liveliness and technical mastery.
In this comprehensive study of Vassé's "Bambinelli" as he called them, Bernard Black augments and corrects the knowledge of these longneglected works by a major sculptor to Louis XV of France.
More beguilingly, he identifies several of them as Vassé's own son and daughters and demonstrates that VassT executed three busts of the eldest, AdelaideJeanne, during her early years, long before Houdon's famous portraits of the young Sabine.
The author also discusses the innovative contribution of LouisClaude Vassé's

busts, in the context of similar works by Pigalle, Jacques Saly and succeeding sculptors, who, ' introduced a new realism for the period in their vision of children.
In an Appendix, an historical checklist of all the known versions of VassT 's child portraits adds to the value of this study as a lasting reference for both connoisseurs and students ofth century French sculpture.