Clodion

Clodion

(klōdēôN`) or

Claude Michel

(klōd mēshĕl`), 1738–1814, French rococo sculptor. He executed several important commissions under Louis XVI but is best remembered for his bas-reliefs and small figure groups in bronze and terra-cotta representing fauns, nymphs, and children. He is represented in the Louvre and in the Metropolitan Museum.

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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Clodion

 

(real name Claude Michel). Born Dec. 20, 1738, in Nancy; died Mar. 28, 1814, in Paris. French sculptor.

From 1755 to 1759, Clodion studied under L. S. Adam and J. B. Pigalle in Paris. Although his works were executed in the rococo tradition, they were more restrained in their general rhythm. Clodion became famous for his decorative and elegant terra-cotta statuettes, small sculptural groups, and reliefs, which were characterized by vivid modeling and by representations of reveling satyrs, bacchantes, and cupids. Many of his works served as models for Sèvres porcelain. In the early 19th century, Clodion attempted to work in the Empire style. Examples of his work of this period are the reliefs on the triumphal arch of the Place du Carrousel in Paris (1806).

REFERENCE

Thirion, H. Les Adam et Clodion. Paris, 1885.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.