Description
These works by the French sculptor Claude Michel, called Clodion, show a pair of young satyrs. Clodion was fond of depicting characters from classical antiquity in his work, and the subject of child or baby satyrs in Bacchanalian celebrations appears often in the work of Rococo artists. The female satyr wraps a plump arm around a nest filled with baby birds, while her male counterpart holds an owl. Balancing on one foot, the two flee the scene of their theft.
Provenance
Private collection, France; Arnold Seligman and Rey and Co., Paris, France; French and Co., New York, New York, sold to Mrs. Francis F. Prentiss (-1929); Elisabeth Severance Prentiss [Mrs. Francis Fleury Prentiss] (1865–1944), Cleveland Heights, Ohio), upon her death, held in trust by the estate. (1929-1944); Estate of Elizabeth Severance Prentiss, by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art (1944); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1944-)
Young Satyress Running with an Owl's Nest and Young Satyr Running with an Owl (pair of statuettes)
1770s
Accession Number
1944.129
Medium
terracotta
Dimensions
Overall: 32.1 x 14.8 x 18.1 cm (12 5/8 x 5 13/16 x 7 1/8 in.); with base: 45.1 cm (17 3/4 in.)
Classification
Sculpture
Credit Line
The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Collection