No. 34

Long-Face Jumeau (Bebe Triste)

French Antique Reproduction

Details

Original

Maison Jumeau (Paris), 1880s

Artist

Hildegard Weidner

Made

June 2001

Height

65 cm (approx. 25.6 in.)

About this doll

A doll in a white lace bonnet tied with satin ribbon and a pink silk dress, with striking deep brown eyes. Hildegard Weidner made this artist reproduction of the Long-Face Jumeau in June 2001.

She recreates the nineteenth-century Jumeau masterpiece, the Long-Face or 'Bebe Triste', at 65 cm. She shares her original with No. 9 in this collection, yet the two dolls differ entirely in costume and mood.

Background

The Long-Face Jumeau was introduced by Jumeau in December 1879 and is traditionally said to have been commissioned from the sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse. Until then doll faces were made by anonymous modelers in the factory, and Jumeau took pride in the first doll made from a celebrated sculptor's model. The long face, closed mouth and slightly drooping eyes give her a wistful look that earned the nickname 'Bebe Triste', the sad baby.

Production ended when the pressed-bisque process was abandoned in the late 1880s, so originals are very rare and change hands at auction for thousands to tens of thousands of dollars. Porcelain artists therefore bring the face back to life with care from molds taken from antique originals. A well-made reproduction lets collectors who may never see an original share the beauty of a nineteenth-century Paris doll.

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