Émile Louis Picault “Ad Lumen" Patinated Bronze Statue

Émile Louis Picault (1833–1915) 

“Ad Lumen”

Patinated Bronze Statue 

 signed E. Picault.

30" H x 12" D

The sculpture depicts a classical male figure astride a sphere, gesturing upward toward the heavens while holding a book and quill pen. The sphere bears the Latin inscription “Ad Lumen,”  meaning towards light.  The composition rests upon a square base signed “E. Picault.” The base further carries the Parisian foundry mark Jollet–Colin.

Cast in French bronze, the work exhibits a finely preserved patina with nuanced brown tonalities.

The inscription “Ad Lumen,” translated as “Towards the Light,” together with the symbolic attributes of the book and quill, suggests an allegorical reference to the French Age of Enlightenment. This intellectual movement of the 18th century positioned France at the forefront of European philosophical thought, championing reason, knowledge, and the pursuit of intellectual illumination.