Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 11

Jean-Baptiste Clésinger
Jean Baptiste Auguste Clesinger Femme Piquée Par Un Serpent

1878

$7,200
$9,00020% Off
£5,356.21
£6,695.2720% Off
€6,279.74
€7,849.6820% Off
CA$10,070.11
CA$12,587.6420% Off
A$11,243.58
A$14,054.4720% Off
CHF 5,899.38
CHF 7,374.2320% Off
MX$138,765.61
MX$173,457.0220% Off
NOK 74,156.03
NOK 92,695.0320% Off
SEK 69,386.11
SEK 86,732.6420% Off
DKK 46,847.96
DKK 58,559.9520% Off
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

JEAN-BAPSITSE AUGUSTE CLÉSINGER (FRENCH, 1814-1883) Femme piquée par un serpent Inscribed J. CLESINGER and F. BARBEDIENNE. FONDEUR Bronze, dark brown patina 8 in. (20.3 cm.) high, 22 ½ in. (57.1 cm.) wide Condition: Excellent Circa 1876 Literature: A Pingeot, Musee d'Orsay, Catalogue sommaire illustré des sculpture, Paris, 1986, p. 100-101, see also p. 19 Woman Bitten by a Serpent is an 1847 sculpture by Auguste Clésinger (1814–1883), now in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. (Marble) It was commissioned by the industrialist Alfred Mosselman and first exhibited in the Paris Salon in 1847, where it and Thomas Couture's The Romans in their Decadence were the most commented-upon works. Clésinger had modelled his work on a life-cast of Mossellman's mistress, the demi-mondaine Apollonie Sabatier (1822–1890), later Charles Baudelaire's muse. The direct use of a life cast as the basis for a sculpture was highly controversial in the 19th century, particularly in its realism, such as the reproduction of the model's cellulite. Clésinger's friend Théophile Gautier orchestrated a response to the art critics' scandalised reviews, ensuring the sculpture's great success. At the end of 1847 Clésinger also produced a Reclining Bacchante, slightly larger than Woman so as to confute criticisms of his technical skills with marble. This was exhibited in room 4 of the Petit Palais in the 1848 Salon – Théophile Gautier wrote that it showed "pure orgiastic delirium, the disheveled Maenad tumbled at the feet of Bacchus, father of liberty and joy ... A powerful spasm of happiness contracts and raises the young woman's opulent bosom and in fact makes the sparkling breasts spring up.". He concluded by calling the work "one of the most beautiful pieces of modern sculpture". It was a major inspiration for the American painter Kehinde Wiley's 2008 Woman bitten by a serpent.
  • Creator:
  • Creation Year:
    1878
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 8 in (20.32 cm)Width: 22.5 in (57.15 cm)Depth: 7 in (17.78 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Dallas, TX
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU2724214282042

More From This Seller

View All
Louis Ernest Barrias Nature Revealing Herself
By Louis Ernest Barrias
Located in Dallas, TX
Louis Ernest Barrias (French 1841-1905) Nature Revealing Herself La Nature se dévoilant devant la Science Gilt, and silver patinated bronze with blue glass scarab Signed on base “E...
Category

Early 1900s Art Nouveau Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Maurice Bouval Art Nouveau Gilt Bronze Sculpture
Located in Dallas, TX
Maurice Bouval (Fr. 1863-1916) Art Nouveau sculpture. French Art Nouveau Gilt-Bronze Figure of a Woman Cast by E. Colin & Cie., Paris, circa 1900 Possibly Pandora, modeled rising ou...
Category

Early 1900s Art Nouveau Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Charming French Art Deco Bronze Nude by F. Trinque, 1930
Located in Dallas, TX
French Art Deco bronze sitting nude by F. Trinque, 1930. A gorgeous Art Deco woman stretching her arms and drying her back with a towel possibly after a swim or bath with a rich gold...
Category

1930s Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Harriet Frishmuth 1923 Bronze Of The Vine
Located in Dallas, TX
Harriet Whitney Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980) The Vine, 1921 Bronze with brown and green patina Height: 11.5 inches (29.2 cm) high on a 3/4 inches (1.9 cm) high marble base Inscrib...
Category

1920s Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Spanish Art Nouveau Silvered Bronze by Gustavo Obiols
Located in Dallas, TX
Gustavo Obiols Delgado (1858-1910) – Spanish sculptor Signed in the cast ‘G. Obiols’ Spanish Dancer with Castanetas; Silvered bronze and finely carved bone No damage or repairs. H...
Category

1920s Art Nouveau Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Maurice Bouval Gilt and Silvered Bronze Art Nouveau Figure
Located in Dallas, TX
Maurice Bouval French Art Nouveau Gilt and Silvered Bronze Figural Vide Poche Cast from a model by Maurice Bouval, cast by Jollet & Cie., Paris, circa 1900 Modeled as a maiden in a ...
Category

Early 1900s Art Nouveau Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

You May Also Like

Bronze Female Statue "Le Crépuscule" by Emile Andre Boisseau
Located in New York, NY
Emile-Andre Boisseau (French, 1842-1923) Le Crépuscule signed 'E. Boisseau' (on the base) Bronze height: 29 in. (74 cm.) Emile-André Boisseau was a...
Category

19th Century Rococo Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Eve and the Serpent Symbolist Bronze Sculpture by Isidore De Rudder
By Isidore De Rudder
Located in Chicago, US
Rare, full size example of this piece. Isidore De Rudder (1855 - 1943) was active/lived in Belgium.
Category

Antique Early 1900s Belgian Art Nouveau Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Onyx, Marble, Bronze

Sculpture “La Frileuse” by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
By Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, C
Sculpture “La Frileuse” by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827-1875). It is made of gilded bronze supported on a red marble base. Signed JB Carpeaux, P B, Susse Frères, Editeuns Paris, Suss...
Category

Antique 1860s French Art Nouveau Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Leda and the Swan
By Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse
Located in Missouri, MO
Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (French, 1824-1887) "Leda and the Swan" c .1858 Bronze w/Gold Patina 18 x 24 x 14 Signed "A. Carrier" Based upon a c...
Category

Late 19th Century Victorian Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Mathurin Moreau Bronze Allegorical Sculpture
By Mathurin Moreau
Located in New York, NY
MATHURIN MOREAU French, (1822-1912) ‘La Libellule’ signed ‘Moreau Mathurin’ 27.5 in. 11.5 in. x 15 in. Notes: A fine quality Art Nouveau allegoric...
Category

19th Century Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Bronze Sculpture, "Baigneuse", Signed A. Gory, Paris, circa 1920
By Affortunato Gory
Located in CABA, AR
Experience the timeless beauty of Affortunato Gory's "Baigneuse," a captivating bronze sculpture that epitomizes the elegance and grace of the Art Deco era. This exquisite piece dep...
Category

Early 20th Century French Art Deco Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze