The Dawn at The Jardin des Grands Explorateurs, Paris

This group sculpture carved in marble was sculpted by French artist Francois Jouffrey (1 February 1806 – 25 June 1882). Jouffroy was born in Dijon, the son of a baker, and attended the local drawing school before being admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1824. In 1832 he won the Prix de Rome. Jouffroy often had to compete with Pierre-Jean David d'Angers for public commissions, but during the Second Empire (1851–1870) still participated in the decoration of several public buildings. Among his students were Jean Dampt andAdrien Étienne Gaudez. Jouffroy died at Laval, Mayenne in 1882. The sculpture, titled The Dawn (L'aurore) is part of a series located in the Jardin des Grands Explorateurs. In the 1800s romanticism was becoming a strong force in art and many French sculptors found means of producing their subjects through allegorical artworks, much like the series at the Gardens of The Palace of Versailles (explore here!). This series presents the personification of the times of the day; Jouffrey's Dawn presents a woman (arms now missing) standing above a man lying down with his eyes closed, perhaps to wake him.   This object is part of Scan The World. Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.