NARRATOR:
This young woman’s nudity, off balance pose, and raised drinking cup identify her as a bacchante, one of the female followers of the wine god Bacchus who celebrated their devotion in orgies of drunken revelry. Too tipsy to stand, she’s carried along by a satyr with the legs of a goat, and Bacchus himself, identified by his crown of vine leaves.
The French sculptor Clodion produced numerous variations on this theme, which appealed to the 18th-century taste for light-hearted erotic subjects. Most such sculptures, including this one, are made of terracotta. Walk around this piece, and you’ll see that Clodion exploits the highly responsive clay to the fullest. Notice how he contrasts tousled hair to smooth skin, shaggy fur to flowing drapery. He captures the sense of rushing, lurching movement, too. The satyr’s shaggy wool flies out as he kicks his leg, and his matted curls rise.
The sculpture is designed to be seen from every angle. The forms spiral through space, each new viewpoint revealing some new detail—for example, a platter of fruit that has been kicked over, a second cupid peering out from behind Bacchus’ leg. Or wine spilling from the overturned jug at the revelers’ feet. Complex and animated compositions like this one were greatly admired by sophisticated patrons of the Rococo era.
Bacchante Supported by Bacchus and a Faun
1795
Clodion (Claude Michel) (French, 1738-1814)
On View
Claude Michel, known as Clodion, was one of the most creative and technically gifted French sculptors in the second half of the 18th century. Although skilled at executing monumental sculpture in marble, he was primarily known for his small and delicate terracotta statuettes. In this example, a young bacchante—a female follower of the Greek god of wine, Bacchus—is playfully carried by Bacchus and a faun.
Terracotta, a type of clay-based ceramic, rose in popularity under Louis XV’s reign. When moist, the clay can be easily shaped by a sculptor’s fingers or modeled with an ébauchoir, a type of wooden tool. The sensitivity of the medium allows for subtle and complex detail, as seen in Bacchus’s garland and the figures’ finely modeled hair.
Details
- Artist Name: Clodion (Claude Michel) (French, 1738-1814)
- Title: Bacchante Supported by Bacchus and a Faun
- Date: 1795
- Medium: Terracotta
- Dimensions: 20 in. (50.8 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1965.1.105.S
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
Alphonse Adel Alfred Regnier, Comte de Groneau, Marquis of Massa (1812-1846); by descent to his widow;
Caroline-Adelaide Leroux (d. 1874), by descent to her second husband;
Andre-Helene, Baron Roger (1804-1880), Paris (possibly his sale, unsold, 1842), by descent to;
Baroness Roger, Paris, sold 18 November 1916 to;
[Duveen Brothers, New York (3/4), with ¼ sold to Wildenstein, New York, November 18, 1916, sold 27 May 1917 to];
Clinton Ledyard Blair (1867-1949), New York City (until 1936), Blairsden Peapack, New Jersey, by inheritance to his daughter;
Mrs. J. B. Campbell, New York City and Kansas City, Nebraska, sold December 12, 1957 to;
[Duveen Brothers, New York, sold 1965 to];
The Norton Simon Foundation.
Caroline-Adelaide Leroux (d. 1874), by descent to her second husband;
Andre-Helene, Baron Roger (1804-1880), Paris (possibly his sale, unsold, 1842), by descent to;
Baroness Roger, Paris, sold 18 November 1916 to;
[Duveen Brothers, New York (3/4), with ¼ sold to Wildenstein, New York, November 18, 1916, sold 27 May 1917 to];
Clinton Ledyard Blair (1867-1949), New York City (until 1936), Blairsden Peapack, New Jersey, by inheritance to his daughter;
Mrs. J. B. Campbell, New York City and Kansas City, Nebraska, sold December 12, 1957 to;
[Duveen Brothers, New York, sold 1965 to];
The Norton Simon Foundation.
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- Le Cabinet de l'amateur et de l'antiquaire, 1842, p. 45, 47, 94
- Vacquier, J., Le Vieux Hôtels de Paris, 1913, p. 4; p. 1
- Graham, F. L., Three Centuries of French Art, 1973, p. 36-37
- Hodgkinson, T., Bulletin of the National Gallery of Canada, 1974, fig. 4 p. 13, 16
- Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum, 1989, p. 93
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. D68 p. 446
- Scherf, G., Dossier de l'art, 2017, p. 24-31
- Pierre-Hippolyte PENET, Les Adam : la sculpture en héritage, 2021, Fig. 168 p. 275
- Margerie, Laure de (with a contribution by Antoinette Le Normand-Romain), French Sculpture, An American Passion / La sculpture française, une passion américaine, 2022, Fig. 29 pp. 264-271, p. 267 (ill.)
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