Bust of Ariadne, Jean-Baptiste, Known as Auguste Clésinger, 19th Century

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Bust of Ariadne, Jean-Baptiste, Known as Auguste Clésinger, 19th Century

About the Item

Jean-Baptiste, known as Auguste Clésinger (1814-1883). Bust of Ariadne. Bronze. Signed on the shoulder with the following mention « Maison Marnyhac, 1 rue de la Paix » in the back, circa 1869. Unique piece. Measures: L 47, H 81, P 30 cm. Biography Auguste Clésinger (Besançon 1814-Paris 1883). Sculptor. “What devil of a man that Mr Clésinger! All that one can say more about this brave man on his account, it that only by seeing his facility of production, one cannot but guess an intelligence or rather a temperament always in awakening, a man who has the love of the sculpture in the guts! ” Baudelaire thus recognizes the true value of Jean-Baptiste Clesinger work, namely a genuine creative zeal, a fervent and passionate faith for his own art, he - as mentioned by the art critic Théophile Thoré - « sculpts and shapes passionately as though he were about to charge on a battlefield, driven by a reckless impetus having no hindrance at all, with a courage taking advantage of the unexpected. He is the Murat of sculpture (eloquent comparison with Napoleon’s favorite Marshall Joachim Murat whose bravery was axiomatic, notably during Austerlitz Battle). Auguste Clésinger was born in Besançon, in the Doubs department of France. His father, Georges-Philippe, was a sculptor and trained Auguste in art. Auguste first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1843 with a bust of vicomte Jules de Valdahon and last exhibited there in 1864. At the 1847 Salon, he created a sensation with his Woman bitten by a serpent, produced from life-casts from his model Apollonie Sabatier (the pose being particularly suitable for such a method), thus reinforcing the scandal with an erotic dimension. Appolonie Sabatier was a salonnière and the mistress of Charles Baudelaire and others. The sculpture's beauty was praised by Théophile Gautier: « Clésinger has resolved this problem of making beauty without cuteness, without affectation, without mannerism, with a head and a body of our own time, in which can be recognized his mistress if she is beautiful ». Auguste Clésinger already had behind him a well-started career when criticism seizes its work. Born in 1814 in Besancon, he begins his formation in Rome in the studio of the Danish neoclassic sculptor Thorvaldsen (1770-1844), completing his artistic training with David of Angers (1788-1856). Therefore, his work definitely resorts to both academism and tradition though sometimes leaning towards Romanticism. Auguste Clésinger also portrayed A. Sabatier, in 1847, the marble sculpture is now in the Musée d'Orsay. He produced busts of Rachel Félix and of Théophile Gautier, and a statue of Louise of Savoy (now in the Jardin du Luxembourg). He received the knight's cross of the Légion d'honneur in 1849 and rose to an officer of the order in 1864. In 1847, he married George Sand's daughter, Solange Dudevant. In 1849, the couple had a daughter, Jeanne, nicknamed Nini, who died in 1855 shortly after her parents' separation. At the death of the composer-pianist Frédéric Chopin on 17 October 1849, Auguste Clésinger made Chopin's death mask and a cast of his hands. He also sculpted, in 1850, the white marble funerary monument of Euterpe, the muse of music, for Chopin's grave at the Père Lachaise Cemetery, in Paris. He died in Paris on 5 January 1883. His heir was his model and mistress Berthe de Courrière. Auguste Clésinger knew how to soften marble and breathe life into it. Dumas thus regarded him as “one of the first sculptors of our time”; as for Rémy de Gourmont, he “personifies, as sculptor, the epitome of Romantic Art”. Maison Marnyhac: The Maison Marnyhac was first located rue de l’Opéra in Paris then 1 rue de la Pais. World-renowned for its production of high-quality exhibits and objects, it was awarded a Gold Medal during Paris Universal Exhibition in 1878 (group III, category 25). Ariadne: In Greek mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of Minos, King of Crete and his queen Pasiphaë, daughter of Helios. She is mostly associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of the Minotaur and Theseus. Her father put her in charge of the labyrinth where sacrifices were made as part of reparations (either to Poseidon or to Athena, depending on the version of the myth); later, she helped Theseus overcome the Minotaur and save the would-be sacrificial victims. In other stories, she became the bride of the god Dionysus, with the question of her being mortal or a goddess varying in those accounts. Bibliography: - Catalogue de la vente « Atelier Clésinger » du 26 février 1923, réalisée à l’hôtel Drouot. Dans la catégorie « Bronzes », lot n°3 « Ariane (buste). Bronze signé. Haut. 80 cent. » - Stanislas Lami, Dictionnaire des sculpteurs de l’école française au dix-neuvième siècle, Paris, 1914-1921. Page 402, inventaire d’oeuvres de Jean-Baptiste Clésinger, « Ariane. Buste (année 1869). Acheté par Emile de Girardin ». Il est toutefois plus probable qu’Emile de Girardin (1806-1881, écrivain et journaliste français, il lança le premier journal bon marché, La Presse) ait acheté l’oeuvre en marbre.

Creator:
Jean-Baptiste Auguste Clesinger (Sculptor)
Dimensions:
Height: 31.89 in (81 cm)Width: 18.51 in (47 cm)Depth: 11.82 in (30 cm)
Style:
Napoleon III (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Bronze
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
1860-1869
Date of Manufacture:
1869
Condition:
Brown patina of origine.
Seller Location:
Saint-Ouen, FR
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU200734801243