Clodion, i.e. Claude Michel (1738-1814), after The Sacrifice to Priapus
Clodion, i.e. Claude Michel (1738 Nancy - 1814 Paris), after The Sacrifice to Priapus , black-brown, brown and greenish-brown patinated bronze on a black, green-veined marble base (3.5 cm high). Total height 38 cm. Dimensions of the bronze: 34.5 cm (height) x 10 cm (width) x 10 cm (depth), weight 4.6 kg. Inscribed “CLODION” on the reverse.
- Very few rubbed areas, marble base with crack and chip to the side, otherwise in excellent condition.
- Ecstasy of Love -
Priapos was the son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and Dionysus, the god of ecstasy, making him the fruit of the ecstasy of love. Equipped with an oversized phallus, he was worshipped in rural areas in ancient times as the god of fertility, to whom the first fruits of the year were sacrificed. Priapos became an erotic subject in ancient times and was rediscovered during the French Rococo period. However, the subject was too frivolous for the eroticized Arcadia of François Boucher or Jean-Honoré Fragonard, while more explicit depictions were preferred in clandestine prints. Clodion, however, does not dissolve the erotic tension into pornography, but rather heightens it. A young woman embraces the stele of Priapos and, with an enraptured face, seems to unite with him in the most ardent amorous frenzy, all the more piquant because the first fruits have been sacrificed to him. In keeping with the Dionysian ecstasy, the knowing, smiling Priapos is depicted with a horned and grape-covered satyr's head, which also adds a touch of humor to the work.
The moving body of the young woman, which is difficult to depict, illustrates Claudion's full artistic skill. She seems to move from within, revealing her beauty from all sides. Clodion varied the theme of Priapos in several works, but this work, which may only have survived as a cast, is his most expressive version of the subject, which also represents a high point in modern erotic sculpture.
About the artist
Claude Michel, who later became one of the most important representatives of French Louis XVI sculpture under the name of "Clodion," began his career as a sculptor in the Paris studio of his uncle, Lambert-Sigisbert Adam. After his uncle's death in 1759, the 20-year-old entered the Académie Royale and became a student of Jean-Baptiste Pigalle. That same year, he was awarded the Grand Prix de Sculpture, which came with a scholarship to Rome. In 1762, he arrived at the Palazzo Mancini, the seat of the Académie de France in Rome, where he quickly became one of the leading artistic personalities. From Rome, he created works for the Duke de La Rochefoucauld and Catherine the Great, who tried in vain to bring the artist to Russia. Clodion spent a total of nine years in Rome. In 1771, he returned to Paris, where his reputation had already preceded him. He was very successful until the French Revolution. He received numerous public and private commissions and also created sculptures for art lovers.