Auguste Clesinger et Barbedienne 19th Large Bronze Sculpture French School

“Helen of Troy”, large bronze sculpture with brown patina signed at the base J.Clesinger-Rome 1864 – F. Barbedienne founder and bearing the Collas mechanical reduction seal.

Auguste Clésinger was the son of Georges-Philippe Clésinger, himself a sculptor, and a professor at the Institute of Fine Arts in Besançon in Franche-Comté. Introduced to sculpture by his father, it can be said of him that he was “self-made”, as he was gifted with both an innate talent and a stormy and independent character.
Clésinger made his debut at the Salon of Painting and Sculpture in Paris in 1843 with a Buste du vicomte Jules de Valdahon but became famous with the scandal caused at the Salon of 1847, when he presented his “Woman Stung by a Serpent”, today at the Musée d’Orsay. Made from a cast of Apollonie Sabatier, the muse of Charles Baudelaire, then lover of the very rich Belgian industrialist Alfred Mosselman and a great art lover, who had placed the order, this extremely sensual sculpture caused an uproar at the Salon, making Clesinger’s name resound everywhere. A controversial, passionate, furious man and sculptor, Clesinger does not accept criticism or advice: he has no students, he is an all-round artist. Strong, energetic, independent, he throws himself on the block of marble and creates his masterpieces, too bold and modern for his time. Irritated by France, he leaves Paris for Rome, where he opens an atelier that he will continue until 1864. His production is never predictable or banal: he tries his hand at busts and historical groups as well as beautiful statues of classical heroines, often played by his favorite muse, the actress Rachel Felix. He is not a sculptor of large numbers, working alone his works are often unique and, when replicated by himself, they always remain in limited numbers. Even the bronze production, published exclusively by Ferdinand Barbedienne, is limited.
This is the case of the beautiful Helen of Troy, which takes shape in the Roman atelier, imagined as a Roman matron, tall, robust, superb, made in a brown patina bronze illuminated by golden highlights.

Measurements
H cm 70
D base cm 20