Faun Family

c. 1785

Clodion

Associated Names
Clodion

Artist, French, 1738 - 1814

This rectangular sculpture is a relief featuring two adult figures and three children. At the center are a woman and a man who are both nude, leaning towards each other and each holding a child. The woman on the left holds a child who has both of its fists raised in the air. The man cradles another child who holds a bird in their lap. The man on the right and the child he holds both appear to have shaggy legs with cloven feet, while the woman and child on the left have human legs. Both adults look tenderly down towards the children. Another small child is seen sitting on the right, slightly apart from the group and turned away from them. They also appear to have hairy legs. To the left of the figures are a cloth, a bowl of fruit, and a long staff. The sculpture is crafted from a light brown material. Above the figures are the faint outlines of garlands hanging from tree branches.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    terracotta

  • Credit Line

    Widener Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 71.1 x 116.8 cm (28 x 46 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1942.9.109

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

d'Yvonne Collection. Purchased 1915/1918 by Joseph E. Widener; inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, after purchase by funds of the Estate;[1] gift 1942 to NGA.
[1] Owner prior to Wideners from Widener catalogue notes, in NGA curatorial files. The exact date of purchase for the Widener collection is not established. The object appears on the appraisal of the collection made when it was given to the National Gallery as having been purchased after Peter A. B. Widener's death in 1915, and Edith Standen, the Widener's curator, determined that it was purchased prior to 1918, as it appears in a typewritten inventory that was drawn up after 1917 and before 1919.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1948

  • Paintings and Sculpture from the Widener Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1948 (reprinted 1959): 135, repro.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 149.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 132, repro.

1992

  • Poulet, Anne L., and Guilhem Scherf. Clodion: 1738-1814. Exh. cat. Musée du Louvre, Paris, 1992: 439, fig. 257.

1994

  • Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: 45, repro.

Inscriptions

lower left: CLODION

Wikidata ID

Q63809330

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