Grotesque Head (Paris Exhibition of 1878)  

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Grotesque Head (Paris Exhibition of 1878)[1][2](detail), published in "Magazine of Art Illustrated" (1878)

By M. Legrain. From the Cascade Basin at the Paris Exhibition of 1878

These masks, modelled by M. Legrain, were among the most amusing examples of the sculptor’s art in the exhibition, and the one we have selected for our present illustration was perhaps the best of the series.

“The idea of a jet of water issuing from the human mouth has, even when treated by the most refined artists, something of a repugnant character, and in the case of drinking water it is difficult to escape this feeling. In his numerous adaptations of masks for this purpose, some others of which we hope in time to illustrate, M. Legrain has, however, succeeded remarkably well in avoiding suggestions other than those of the most comic and ludicrous nature.

“There is something intensely laughable in the head which forms the subject of our present observations. The eager earnestness with which our friend is engaged in contributing his quotum to fill the grand basin, the inflated cheeks, the puckered lips, and the staring eyes are full of character, and there is a passionate energy in the way he is performing his allotted task which cannot fail to impress even the most casual observer.” (p. 256)[3]

Could it be Eugène Legrain instead of M. Legrain?

See Fountains in Paris

See also

• Grotesque head