French Bronze Sculpture of “Woman Bitten by Snake” by Clesinger

AUGUSTE JEAN BAPTISTE CLESINGER
French, 1814–1883

"Femme Piquée par un Serpent" (Woman Bitten by a Snake)

Patinated sand-cast bronze reduction cast in Paris by F. Barbedienne
Modeled 1847, cast executed second half of the 19th century
Marked F. BARBEDIENNE FONDEUR and CLESINGER on the integral base.

8" H x 23" W x 6 7/8" D

ref. 601QJH27X

Auguste Jean-Baptiste Clesinger exhibited the life size marble Femme piquée par un serpent at the Paris Salon of 1847. The sculpture was purchased by the French State and entered the Musée du Luxembourg before transfer to the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, where it remains. The work is discussed both in Musée d’Orsay, Catalogue sommaire illustré des sculptures (A. Pingeot, Paris, 1986, p. 100–101 & p. 19) and Romantics to Rodin (Fusco & Jansen, 1980, p. 175–176, no. 58).

The 1847 marble represents a reclining nude woman reacting to the bite of a serpent, the snake visible at her hand. Contemporary accounts identified Madame Apollonie Sabatier as the model. Sabatier was a prominent Parisian hostess associated with the literary and artistic circles of the 1840s. She was Clesinger's lover through 1846 before becoming lover to newspaperman Alfred Mosselman. Mosselman commissioned Clesinger to complete the sculpture using Sabatier as his model.

The work’s presentation at the Salon of 1847 generated substantial controversy for its suggestive and highly sensual nature; it was celebrated as being a "masterpiece" of sculpture by Theophile Gautier, who said Clesinger "had the daring, unheard of in our time, to exhibit without a mythological title a masterpiece which is neither a goddess, nor a nymph... but simply a woman". He reported that friends of Clesinger had implored him to place a snake on her ankle or arm so that it could be interpreted allegorically, perhaps as a Cleopatra or Eurydice and as such would not be rejected when submitted to the jury. Upon seeing the sculpture, Théophile Thoré-Bürger (1807–1869) proclaimed Clesinger the "new talent" and described the work in lyrical terms of epiphany. However, on the other side critics like Gustave Planche thought the work was in bad taste and probably cast his figure from life - a charge probably not far off, considering Sabatier was Clesinger's model. Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849) was incensed by its self-evident indecency and wrote as much in a letter in June of 1847, showing contempt for the model as excessively sensual and given license only by the trick of placing a snake on "her leg". The sculpture quickly became Clesinger’s most widely discussed and exhibited sculptures.

Considerable confusion rests around the title of the work, as numerous variations exist (with the snake around her wrist, with a snake around her ankle, without the snake, etc.), such that the essayist in Romantics to Rodin (p. 176) writes "Is it possible that the Louvre plaster, and our bronze, should be identified with the work called Dream of Love (Rêve d'Amour), apparently begun by Clesinger in about 1844? Like the Woman Bitten By a Snake of 1847 and the Bacchanteof 1848, it was supposedly inspired by Mme. Sabatier."

Reductions of the model were produced in bronze in the second half of the nineteenth century. In these versions, including the present cast, the serpent is omitted and the bitten hand is concealed beneath a grasped fold of drapery.

The present example was cast in Paris by the foundry of Ferdinand Barbedienne and bears the mark F. BARBEDIENNE FONDEUR. Barbedienne was active in Paris from the 1840s and is documented as producing reductions after major nineteenth century sculptors. The bronze is signed CLESINGER on the integral base and presents a warm brown patina consistent with late nineteenth century casts from the Barbedienne workshop.

The original marble remains in the Musée d’Orsay, Paris. The sculpture continues to be cited in Salon documentation of 1847 and in later institutional catalogues as a principal work by Clesinger.

For similar examples, see Sotheby's, New York, November 22, 2005, lot 211 (a cast of identical dimensions by Barbedienne, recorded with heavy wear and rubbing to patina, achieved $ 9,000); an example sold at Sotheby's, London, May 29, 2008 (achieved 6250 GBP, which at an approximate conversion rate of 1.9657 the date of sale is roughly $ 12,200 USD). Sotheby's, London also had an example offered on April 21, 2004 which achieved 5400 GBP (1.8036 conversion, translating to approximately $ 9700 USD).

Condition: A very fine presentation. Original patina, cleaned and sealed in wax. Silky and translucent. Rubbing wear to extremities and high points, including the upraised hand and garment, some minor edge wear, trace discoloration. Ready to place.

AUGUSTE JEAN BAPTISTE CLESINGER
(1814–1883)

Auguste Jean Baptiste Clesinger was born in Besançon in 1814, the son of the sculptor Georges Philippe Clesinger. He received early training from his father before continuing his studies in Italy during the 1830s. By the early 1840s he was active in Paris and began exhibiting at the Salon.