Fernand Cian

FERNAND CIAN, Fernando Ciancianini (Italy, 1886-1954).
"Children and crabs".
Terracotta.
Signed on the right side.
Measurements: 35 x 31 x 14 cm.

This terracotta sculptural group represents three naked children in an environment that suggests a beach. The scene transmits a sensation of spontaneity and tenderness. One of them holds a finger to his lips asking for silence, the other two gaze in wonder in the same direction, where a pair of crabs roam freely. The composition captures an ephemeral moment of childlike curiosity, like a snapshot, with detailed modeling of the bodies, expressions and postures, reinforcing the realism and delicacy of the scene. This and other works by Cian are influenced by artists such as Clodion and Falconet, who depicted children with a playful and sensual expressiveness, typical of the Rococo.

Fernand Cian (Fernando Ciancianini) was known for his charming 18th-century-style terracotta busts of children, popular just after the turn of the century. There are examples of his work in the National Gallery in Washington and in the Louvre (see Jean-René Gaborit, "Un buste d'enfant daté de 1771," Revue de l''Art 23 [1974]).