Auction introduction: Presenting an extensive panorama of 19th- and 20th-century French sculpture, the collection of Jacques and Michèle Ginepro represents a lifetime's accomplishment. Amassed over nearly fifty years, the almost three hundred works within the collection brings together pieces by major 19th-century artists, such as Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux and Aimé-Jules Dalou, with those of modern sculptors. The animal sculptures of Barye, Godchaux, Frémiet and the workers of Dalou stand alongside the modern figures of Joseph Bernard. In addition to these classic works, the Ginepro collection gives pride of place to contemporary artists that the couple knew well. The most represented artist of the collection is unquestionably Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827-1875), a tutelary figure of the Second French Empire whom Jacques Ginepro described as being a true visionary. The artist’s most famous models are present in this collection, including a bronze Trois Grâces and a Génie de la Danse, both from the group sculpted for the façade of Opéra Garnier.