Rare photograph of Auguste Jean's stand at the Exposition de l’Union Centrale des Beaux-Arts Appliqués à l’Industrie in 1865, notably showing two large busts in enamelled earthenware. According to the exhibition catalogue, archives, and contemporary press, these are portraits of Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie, mentioned as "Two busts in medallioned earthenware of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress."
Now unlocated, these two busts are only known through this photograph and contemporary sources that attest to their presentation. They bear witness to Auguste Jean's production of large-format pieces in the mid-1860s and his interest in official portraits in enamelled earthenware during the Second Empire. The name of the sculptor also remains unknown to this day.
