84 - Claude Michel CLODION (1738–1814), known as Clodion, after

Claude Michel CLODION (1738–1814), known as Clodion, after The Bacchanalia A pair of grape-harvesting cherubs in chiseled and patinated bronze, seated on a goat. The first is offering grapes, while the second is tugging at his goatee. They rest on a rectangular base of gray Saint-Anne marble, molded with a groove and encircled by a gilt-bronze acanthus frieze. The ensemble is supported by ball feet. Paris. Louis XVI period H_18 cm W_17.5 cm D_9 cm Claude Michel CLODION He came to Paris and joined the studio of his uncle, the sculptor Lambert-Sigisbert Adam (1700–1759). Upon Adam’s death, he studied for several months under Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (1714–1785). After winning first prize in sculpture in 1759, he arrived in Rome in 1762. However, he extended his stay there for six years to fulfill commissions from a prominent private clientele, including Empress Catherine II of Russia. In 1771, he was ordered to return to France. As a certified student, he exhibited at the Salon du Louvre as early as 1773. He returned to Italy in early 1774 to select marble at the request of the chapter of Rouen Cathedral, as well as for the General Directorate of the King’s Buildings. He stayed in Carrara at the beginning of the year, then in Rome, and returned to Marseille in May of that same year. He subsequently set up his studio on Place Louis XV, and later on Rue de la Chaussée-d’Antin. His work quickly became a great success: his clientele included the Duke of La Rochefoucauld, the Marquis de Marigny, the Countess d’Orsay, the Prince of Conti, as well as a large number of financiers—Bourget de Vézelay, Baudart de Saint-James, Jean-Joseph de Laborde, and Taillepied de Bondy. His patrons also included farmers-general and bankers such as Vassal de Saint-Hubert, Varanchan de Saint-Geniès, and Bergeret de Grandcourt. Bibliography: - CLODION. Exhibition at the Louvre Museum, March 17–June 27, 1992, curated jointly by Anne L. Poulet and Guilhem Scherf; - Les Adam et Clodion, by H. Thirion—Paris, 1885; - CLODION, Sculptor of the 18th-Century Art of Living, *L'Estampille – L'Objet d'Art*, March 1992, No. 256. Expert: Stéphane PEPE Expert: Stephane PEPE