On the model of "CLODION"; CLAUDE MICHEL (Nancy, 1738 - Paris, 1814).
"Maenads".
Blued bronze and gilt bronze base.
Signed in the area of the base on the back.
Size: 49 x 40 x 26 cm; 6 x 43 x 28 cm (base).
The present work is closely inspired by a work by Claude Michel (known as Clodion) known as "Bacchantes" or "The Family of Bacchantes", because it presents several regular members of the procession of the God Bacchus or Dionysus, or "The Triumph of Bacchus", because it is related to these celebrations in honour of the god of wine in classical mythology. Because of the appreciation of this type of work, numerous castings were made after Clodion's works and works inspired by them.
Claude Michel, known as Clodion, was born in Nancy, but in 1755 he moved to Paris to study in the workshop 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 favourite sculptor. His work soon began to be recognised and in 1759 he won the grand prize for sculpture at the Académie Royale. In 1761 he was awarded the first silver medal for studies on models, and a year later he was awarded the Grand Prix de l'Académie Royale, consisting of a pension to further his training in Italy. Clodion was very active in Rome between 1767 and 1771. On returning to Paris he set up his own studio, where he worked with his brothers depicting mythological scenes, groups of dancers, nymphs and bathers in a language that straddled Rococo and Neoclassicism. His works were in great demand, from the Parisian salons to Catherine II of Russia. Clodion's works are held in 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 Museum (Forth Worth, Texas), among many others.