Rating and value of sculptures and bronzes by Hélène Bertaux

If you own a work by or after the artist Hélène Bertaux, and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will offer you their appraisal services.

Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with an accurate estimate of its value on the current market.

Then, if you'd like to sell your work, we'll direct you to the best possible arrangement to get the best price for it. 

Rating and value of artist Hélène Bertaux  

Hélène Bertaux is a well-known artist among lovers of classical sculpture. Now, the prices of her sculptures are rising at the auctioneers' gavel.

Her bronze and copper sculptures are particularly prized, especially by French buyers, and the price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €40 to €28,320, a significant delta but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to the artist's works.

In 2023, his sculpture Jeune fille au bain sold for €29,320, while it was estimated at between €14,160 and €23,600. His stock is rising.

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious

Style and technique by artist Hélène Bertaux     

Hélène Bertaux (1825 - 1909) was a major sculptural artist of the 19th century. She practiced sculpture in the round, in noble materials (marble, plaster, terracotta and sometimes bronze).

She mastered modeling with particular care for supple flesh, fluid drapery and anatomical precision. She works with meticulous reproduction of details (hair, hands, fabrics and expressions) in a desire to achieve an idelized yet embodied beauty.

She is an heiress of neoclassicism in the tradition of her male contemporaries such as James Pradier or Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux. She was influenced by Antiquity, with poses borrowed from Greco-Roman Venuses, mythological inspirations or frequent allegories.

She was careful to respect academic canons (proportions, balanced postures, formal elegance), but with her own attention to the femininity of the subject.

The female nude occupies a central place in her work, which was very daring for a woman artist of her time. She sculpts the body with a blend of sensuality and modesty, always dignified and classical, with no concession to traviality.

Her work bears witness to an ability to create a dialogue between tension and balance, notably in the raised arms, the twists of the torso or the tilt of the faces. She often sculpts figures in slight movement, suggesting a suspended momentum or an action stopped in time.

She also works with subtle plays of light on volumes, thanks to delicate polishing work and a clear three-dimensional composition. Her classical style has enabled her to enter male-dominated salons, while asserting an artistic identity of her own.

Hélène Bertaux uses academic technique as strategic levers to legitimize the place of women in the fine arts. Her style thus both conforms to academic expectations and carries a empowerment ambition.  

The career and world of Hélène Bertaux

Hélène Bertaux, born Joséphine Charlotte Hélène Pilate in 1825 in Paris, was the daughter of a sculptor. She began modeling clay and taking an interest in the plastic arts at an early age, and trained as a sculptor largely on her own, as art schools were forbidden to women at the time.

She was better known as Madame Léon Bertaux, but later took the pseudonym Hélène Bertaux in order to exhibit and establish herself in an exclusively male milieu. She began exhibiting at the Salon in the 1860s, and her success continued in the following decades.

Her works are mainly female nudes, allegorical or mythological subjects, sculpted in a highly accomplished academic style. In 1873, she was the first woman to receive a public commission from the French state for a monumental work.

In 1893, she was the first woman sculptor to receive the Légion d'honneur. Hélène Bertaux quickly became a leading figure in artistic feminism, and actively campaigned for institutions to be opened up to women.

In 1881, she founded the Union des peintres femmes et sculpteurs, which she headed for over 20 years. Thanks to her efforts, women were allowed to compete for the Prix de Rome in 1897. She played a key role in the admission of women to the École des Beaux-Arts, obtained in 1897 after a long struggle.

Her artistic work is inseparable from her fight for the institutional recognition of women artists. She won the respect of her peers by asserting herself on their own turf : great academic sculpture.

Her influence extends beyond her production insofar as she paved the way for entire generations of women sculptors. She died in 1909 in Saint-Michel-de-Chaillol. Her name remains associated with the conquest of a place for women in French art history. Today, she is being rediscovered for her decisive role in the institutional history of art.

Focus on Psyché sous l'empire du mystère, Hélène Bertaux

The original plaster of Psyché sous l'empire du mystère is without doubt Bertaux's most famous sculpture, presented at the Salon of 1863. The subject is taken from Greek mythology at the moment when Psyche discovers the true identity of Eros, whom she has hitherto only loved in the dark.

It is a work preserved in French national collections, and contributed to Bertaux's official recognition. Her posture is supple and meditative; Psyché is depicted seated, bending her torso slightly forward in a pose of introspection.

The drapery work is particularly meticulous, the folds of fabric falling naturally, emphasizing both the movement of the body and the purity of the form. The face is treated with fine lines, lowered eyes, closed mouth, aiming to express mystery, turmoil and interiority.

She pays great attention to the modulation of volumes and the polychromy of the marble, which gives an almost living rendering to the figure. The frozen moment is one of revelation, as Psyche holds the lamp with which she will discover Eros.

Bertaux transforms this mythological moment into an allegory of knowledge, desire, learning and emancipation. Mystery is no longer an obstacle but an invitation to see, making the work a subtle echo of Bertaux's fight for women artists.

The sculpture was presented at the 1863 Salon, and aroused admiration and surprise : a woman managed to rival the best sculptors of her time. The work is in the neoclassical tradition, yet introduces a modern tension, as the subject is familiar but treated with a rare psychological interiority.

This work marks a decisive step in Bertaux's career, and establishes her legitimacy in the masculine world of Beaux-Arts. It is often compared to Pradier's Venuses or Carrier-Belleuse's allegorical figures, but with a fresh feminine take on the female psyche.

Recognizing the artist's signature

Hélène Bertaux does not necessarily sign her works. Copies may exist, which is why expertise remains important.

Knowing the value of a work

If you happen to own a work by or after Hélène Bertaux, don't hesitate to request a free appraisal using our form on our website.

A member of our team of experts and certified auctioneers will contact you promptly to provide you with an estimate of the market value of your work, as well as ad hoc information about it.

If you are considering selling your work, you will also be accompanied by our specialists in order to benefit from alternatives for selling it at the best possible price, taking into account market inclinations.