Pair of French Napoleon III candlesticks, ca. 1860-70. After "CLODION" (Claude Michele, Nancy, 1738 - Paris, 1814).
Patinated and gilded bronze.
Marble base.
Measurements: 120 cm (height) x 40 cm (diameter).
Following the Louis XV style, characteristic of the renowned French sculptor Clodion, we are in front of a pair of bronze candelabra, each one of them with a body of lights with five curved arms, gilded and decorated with vegetal motifs. They have flaming lampshades. The light bodies are supported by round sculptures of patinated putti, whose grace and classicism are inspired by those of the prolific sculptor Clodion. They are a pair of curly-haired lovebirds, with carefully cared-for anatomies and soft, warm finishes. The naturalness of their gestures and postures is also remarkable. This type of candelabra was characteristic of the Paris of Napoleon III, when the Clodion style experienced a new boom.
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 his uncle's death he became a pupil of Jean Baptiste Pigalle, Madame de Pompadour's favourite sculptor. His work soon began to be recognised and in 1759 he won the grand prize for sculpture at 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. On returning to Paris he set up his own studio, where he worked with his brothers depicting mythological scenes, groups of dancers, nymphs and bathers in a language somewhere 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.