After Claude Michel, Known As Clodion (1738–1814), *bacchante*, Bronze, 19th Century

A bronze bust with a brown patina depicting a bacchante crowned with vine leaves and clad in a drape that reveals her breast. It rests on a round base whose platform is decorated with a border of vines.

Signed “R. Clodion” beneath the left arm.

Claude Michel, known as Clodion (1738–1814), was a French sculptor and draftsman, born in Nancy and died in Paris. A member of the Adam dynasty of Lorraine sculptors, he first studied sculpture under his maternal uncle, Lambert-Sigisbert Adam, and then, beginning in 1756, at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, where he was a student of Jean-Baptiste Pigalle.

After winning the Prix de Rome in 1759, he moved to the Eternal City in 1762, where he lived for nine years. The ancient art he discovered there would have a profound influence on his work. Indeed, he produced numerous mythological and allegorical works in bronze, terracotta, and marble in an elegant and sensual style that enjoyed great success during the reign of Louis XVI and the First Empire. Notably, he received his first royal commission—a portrait of the philosopher Montesquieu—in 1778.

Slight wear and oxidation of the patina.
A few scratches.
Good overall condition.
19th-century piece.

Height: 38 cm
Length: 24 cm
Width: 15 cm