Large Bronze Group Sculpture – Bacchante With Two Putti, After Clodion – 19th Century

An important and highly decorative bronze sculptural group based on a work by Claude Michel, known as Clodion (1738–1814), depicting a graceful bacchante accompanied by two putti.

The bacchante is depicted seated on a rock, her hair elegantly pinned up and adorned with flowers and vine leaves. Clad in an animal pelt delicately draped around her body, she holds a cup and looks down upon two lively putti playing at her feet. Grape clusters, vine leaves, and other Bacchic attributes enrich the composition and evoke the world of Bacchus, wine, and abundance.

The composition is particularly captivating for its movement and the lively interaction between the figures. The bacchante’s graceful and sensual demeanor contrasts harmoniously with the children’s spontaneous gestures, in the spirit of Clodion’s famous mythological and Bacchic compositions.

The quality of the modeling is particularly remarkable in the rendering of the young woman’s face and hairstyle, the anatomy of the figures, the texture of the animal hide, and the numerous details of the terrace.

The bronze features a beautiful dark brown patina with lighter shades, highlighting the volumes and the richness of the modeling.

The group bears the signature “Clodion” on the terrace and rests on an elegant oval pedestal of veined pink and white marble.

A beautiful and significant French decorative sculpture, characteristic of the 19th-century taste for Clodion’s bacchanalian and sensual compositions. Bacchantes and Dionysian scenes, in fact, occupy a prominent place in the sculptor’s oeuvre.

Artist: after Claude Michel, known as Clodion (1738–1814)
Subject: Bacchante with two putti
Origin: France
Period: 19th century
Material: patinated bronze and marble
Signature: signed “Clodion” on the pedestal
Dimensions: 42 × 24 cm