After Clodion

After "CLODION"; CLAUDIO MICHEL (Nancy, 1738 - Paris, 1814).
"Young man with doves".
Gilded bronze.
With signature "Clodion".
Measurements: 52 x 19 x 19 cm.

A semi-nude lady with long hair holds in her arms two doves that desperately try to escape. His was an academic and realistic style, characterized by the quality of his finishes, by his realism and, above all, by the grace, charm and elegance of his models. Clodion's models follow.

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 the death of his uncle, he became a pupil of Jean Baptiste Pigalle, Madame de Pompadour's favorite sculptor. His work was soon recognized and in 1759 he won the grand prize for sculpture from 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. Back in Paris, he created his own workshop, where he worked with his brothers representing mythological scenes, groups of dancers, nymphs and bathers in a language halfway between 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.