Gilt bronze bust after Clodion

A gilt bronze woman bust on a square base, marked with an apocryphal signature of Clodion (1738-1814).
Claude Michel said Clodion, (1738-1814), sculptor of the late Ancien Regime, modeled cupids, nymphs, bacchantes, of a young and spiritual sensuality has earned him success. To be able to capture the woman and reconcile the antique severity with French charm, Clodion had already been substantially looted during his lifetime. After his death he was going to be copied without measure so that it often confused with a 19th century sculptor. Many bronzes which he had provided the model of 18th century artisans were published later after his works. Under the Second Empire, they were manufactured in large numbers. The so-called Fragonard sculpture is both the best witness of an era charming and one of the greatest interpreters of feminine grace.


Bibliography:Clodion, in. Connaissance des Arts, Paris, 1955, p 72

G. Scherf, Clodion, sculpteur de la douceur de vivre, in l'Estampille, Paris, 1992, p 66