JACQUES DOLLE
August 3, 2017 Leave a comment
They argue about his name. He is not Jacques, they insist, it’s Joseph. He is worthy of the attention: he left his mark on the city of his birth, more than a mark. Born in Antibes in 1650, he is considered by some as a master sculptor. The work he did in the Cathedral of St Mary, the main cathedral in the city, bears out this opinion. At the portal you see what he was capable of, as intriguing a character, as he was mysterious, in the history of Antibes.
These relief figures depict legends and stories from the Bible, detailed work in the spirit of baroque, fitting if one considers too, the classic baroque of the church façade. In the church we see the pulpit and the baptism font, both his handiwork.
He attracted attention, especially if one considers the competition at the time from many Italian sculptors. The Sun King, Louis XIV, came to hear of him and he went north for a few projects. In Antibes there is too, his master work The Portal of France, a majestic Gate with a finely-fashioned pediment, that we know from a postcard. But, the tourist office informed me, it is in a state of advanced neglect, with buildings around it making it virtually impossible to see. On the reverse side of building, as a kind of compensation for the neglect, a pediment in full view of the street has been constructed, but the detail, I’m told, is clearly inferior to Dolle’s original work. To add insult, it is recorded in the archives that he was never paid for this work.
It is also a story of creeping hatred. For certain reasons he was not popular amongst the aristocracy, perhaps because of his humble origins. Badmouthing poisoned his life. He was stained with supposed paranormal activities. One piece of scandal had it that, in the garden of a wealthy marquis, Dolle trafficked with white female spirit. It was subsequently found that the “white spirit” had in fact been a marble Venus figure, from the time of the Romans.
His health deteriorated and he withdrew from life to the Monastery of Laghet where he dedicated himself to God. Shortly before his death, − it was the year 1730 − he returned to Antibes, to the white marble figure in the garden of the marquis, the Venus that he had never forgotten, the figure that haunted him yet. The next day they found him lifeless at her feet.
© Will van der Walt
www.willwilltravel.wordpress.com
Les Semboules, Antibes
August, 2017
Source
Pierre Tosan : Dictionnaire d’Antibes Juan-Les-Pins. HEPTA Antibes, 1998.
Images
Portal panels – my photos
Pulpit, baptism font – Dictionnaire d’Antibes Juan-Les-Pins
My drawing.