Following Clodion's models

Based on models by “CLODION”; CLAUDE MICHEL (Nancy, 1738 – Paris, 1814).
"Bacchantes."
Patinated bronze.
Signed. With foundry stamp.
Marble base.
Measurements: 29 x 22 x 19 cm; 33 cm (height with base).

This work is very closely inspired by a piece by Clodion known as “Bacchantes,” as it features several figures commonly found in the retinue of the god Bacchus or Dionysus: specifically, two Maenads and three putti forming a dynamic, joyful, and dancing group. One maenad carries a putto on her shoulders who is playing the tambourine. The other two cherubs frolic in the countryside. Due to the popularity of this type of work, numerous castings were produced following Clodion’s works, as well as pieces inspired by them.

Claude Michel, known as Clodion, was born in Nancy, but in 1755 he moved to Paris to study in the studio of his uncle, the sculptor Lambert Sigisbert Adam, with whom he remained for four years. After his uncle’s death, he became a pupil of Jean Baptiste Pigalle, Madame de Pompadour’s favorite sculptor. His work soon began to gain recognition, and in 1759 he won the Grand Prix for sculpture from the Académie Royale. In 1761, he was awarded the first silver medal for studies from life, and a year later he received the Grand Prix from the Royal Academy, which consisted of a stipend to further his training in Italy. In Rome, Clodion was highly productive between 1767 and 1771. Upon his return to Paris, he established his own studio, where he worked alongside his brothers creating scenes of mythology, groups of dancers, nymphs, and bathers, in a style that straddled the line between Rococo and Neoclassicism. His works were in high demand, from Parisian salons to Catherine II of Russia. Works by Clodion are preserved at the Louvre (Paris), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg), the Victoria & Albert Museum (London), the Art Institute of Chicago, the J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles), the Frick Collection (New York), and the Kimbell Art Museum (Fort Worth, Texas), among many others.