Claudius Marioton

Claudius Marioton was the eldest child of the cook Jean Marioton and the metal-browner Catherine Magister. He had two younger brothers who were also artists – the sculptor Eugène Marioton and the painter Jean Alfred Marioton. Claudius exhibited at every Paris Salon from 1873 onwards, winning an honorary mention each year from 1879 to 1882, a 3rd class medal in 1883 and a 2nd class medal outside the competition in 1885. His first exhibit was Le Plaisir and Love Making the World Turn According to His Pleasure at the 1879 Salon. He also won laureates in the Willemsens and Crozatier competitions in 1876 and 1879, respectively. In 1886, Claudius decorated Carrier-Belleuse's cup at the Musée d'Orsay. He won two gold medals and one silver medal at the 1889 Exposition Universelle. He was on the sculpture jury at the 'Salon des Champs-Élysées' in 1893 and 1894. In 1894, he produced Byzance (Byzantium) in gold and silver, The Satyr, a steel bas-relief with lapis lazuli inlay, and 'L'offensive et Défensive' The Offensive and the Defensive, a silver, gold and color diptych. He won the collective firsts prize at the Lyon Exposition Universelle in 1894 and the following year was made a Knight of the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur. Claudius was also a member of the overseeing committee of the École Boulle and director of the 'École de dessin de modelage et de ciselure de la réunion des fabricants de bronze' in Paris.