Description
Signed Clodion
From our Sculpture collection, we are pleased to offer this French Belle Epoque Bronze of Ariadne cast after Clodion (Claude Michel). The sculpture of fine casting and beautiful patination is sculpted as a bust of a Ariadne in nature with her hair tied up and leaves intwined in her hair. The Bronze sits upon a circular socle with a square base signed to the right hand face Clodion. The Bronze cast after the original during the neoclassical era dating to the second half of the 19th century during the Belle Epoque era (c.1970-1914) circa 1875.
Clodion was the alias of Claude Michel (1738-1814) a French born sculptor working in the Rococo style, especially noted for his works in marble, bronze, & terracotta. Many of Clodion’s works feature in museum collections around the world with some of his most pivotal works including The Intoxication of Wine and The Dance of Time.
Ariadne In Greek mythology was a Cretan princess and the daughter of King Minos of Crete. Ariadne was known for aiding Theseus escape the Minotaur and then being abandoned by him on the island of Naxos. There, Dionysus saw Ariadne sleeping, fell in love with her, and later married her. Many versions of the myth recount Dionysus throwing Ariadne’s jewelled crown into the sky to create a constellation, the Corona Borealis. In Mythology Minos put Ariadne in charge of the labyrinth where sacrifices were made as part of reparations either to Poseidon or Athena.
Neoclassicism was a movement in architecture, design and the arts which emerged in France in the 1740s becoming highly popular between 1760 to 1830. It emerged as a reaction to the frivolity and excessive ornament of the baroque and rococo styles. In architecture it featured sobriety, straight lines, and forms, such as the pediment and colonnade which was based on Ancient Greek and Roman models. In painting it featured heroism and sacrifice in the time of the ancient Romans and Greeks leaning heavily on myths and legends. Neoclassicism began in Louis XV’s reign continuing through the French Revolution, the French Directory, and the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte finishing around 1830 when it was gradually replaced by romanticism and eclecticism.
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting of copper, about 12% tin and often other metals such as aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc and sometimes, non-metals such as phosphorus, arsenic and, silicon. The additions produce a range of alloys that are harder than copper alone and often have other useful properties such as strength, ductility, and/or machinability.
Belle Epoque is a period of French, Belgian and European history. It began in the early 1870’s and to ended with the outbreak of World War I in 1914.
Measurements 24cm High x 12.5cm Wide x 9.5cm Deep ( 9.45 x 4.92 x 3.74 Inches)
Condition Good condition minor wear to the patination
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