A Plaster And Bronze Sculpture By Alfons Lambert Baggen (1862 – 1937)

In addition to the bronze statue, we now also have the original plaster cast of “ Avant L’Attaque” in our collection.

An important plaster cast and bronze sculpture by Alfons Lambert Baggen (Geleen 1862-1937 Borgerhout).
Circa 1900-1920s Signed A. Baggen.Foundry H. Jamais Antwerp.

it’s quite rare and historically important to have both together.

Plaster casts were working models: Sculptors like Alfons Lambert Baggen used plaster as an intermediate step between clay and the final bronze. They were not usually intended for public display and often didn’t survive long (plaster is fragile, sensitive to humidity, and easily damaged).

Bronzes were the final artworks: These were the durable, finished pieces, meant for collectors or institutions. Once the bronze was made, the plaster was often discarded or lost.

Pairing is unusual: To still have the original plaster alongside the bronze it led to is rare. Museums and archives sometimes hold both for documentation, but in private collections it’s far less common.

Having both gives a unique insight into Baggen’s process - you can compare how details, textures, and patinas shifted from the plaster to the bronze. Collectors and historians value this kind of pairing because it preserves both the idea (plaster) and the execution (bronze).

Exhibitions and publications:

Borgerhout, Borgerhout artists 19th century, District House, 1989, cat. nr11.3.

Antwerp: Hessenhuis 1990. Rembrandt Bugatti and the Belgian Animal Sculpture, page 110, no.28.

Similar sculpture included in Kunstpatrimonium, 1975. Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp.
page 68, no.170.