Jean-baptiste (dit Auguste) Clesinger, Silvered Bronze Bust Of Ariadne, Maison Marnyhac, Paris

JEAN-BAPTISTE, CALLED AUGUSTE CLÉSINGER
French
1814-1883
Silvered bronze BUST OF ARIADNE

Signed J. CLESINGER on a shoulder and with foundry cachet to the back for Maison Marnyhac, 1 rue de la Paix

The present bust is a sensuous rendering of Ariadne. It can be identified as Ariadne by the starry crown, which was fetched by Theseus from Thetis’ palace under the sea and later thrown amongst the stars by Bacchus as the Corona Borealis. An important example of French Romantic sculpture, the Egyptianate costume in the necklace and jewelled bodice suggests it is developed from Clésinger’s statue of Cleopatra exhibited at the Salon of 1869. The sensuous treatment of the female nude is characteristic of Clésinger, who took pride in carving his own marbles, unlike most atelier sculptors of the period (P. Fusco/H. W. Janson, “The Romantics to Rodin”, Los Angeles County Museum, 1980 p. 175).
Auguste Clésinger was famous for his mythological, historical, and allegorical busts of which numerous were exhibited at the Salons.
Clésinger’s erotic female busts were considered shocking by his contemporaries, demonstrating his ability to render beautiful and sensuous women in a realistic manner.

RELATED LITERATURE
Estignard, Clésinger: sa vie et ses oeuvres, Paris, 1900, p.168.
R. de Gourmont, Clésinger: Notice Biographique, Catalogue des Oeuvres, Paris, 1903, p. 21.