JEAN-BAPTISTE CLESINGER
French, 1814-1883

"Sapho"

Sand-cast bronze in medium-brown patination
Raised on original rouge marble
Signed "J. CLESINGER", titled "SAPHO" and signed "Maison Marnyhac 1 Rue de la Paix"

16" H (with base); 14 1/4" H (bronze) x 8" diameter

This bronze figure represents Sapho as a standing, draped female form, modeled with a pronounced sense of gravity and inward reflection. The figure is shown in contrapposto, her head inclined and gaze lowered with her weight carried through one leg and the loose garment gathered and drawn close to her body. The treatment of the surface is varied, with smoothly modeled flesh contrasting against deeply worked folds of drapery that descend into the irregular, rocky textures in the support at the rear; . The bronze is mounted on its original red marble base. The title SAPHO is inscribed along the integral bronze plinth, and the circumference bears the signature “J. CLESINGER” together with the retailer’s mark “Maison Marnyhac, 1 Rue de la Paix.”

Sapho, the archaic Greek poet from the island of Lesbos, was celebrated in antiquity for her lyric verse and later became an enduring symbol of poetic genius, emotional intensity and tragic sensibility. In 19th century France, her figure was frequently interpreted through a Romantic lens, one emphasizing introspection and melancholy. 

Maison Marnyhac operated as a retailer and publisher (or editeur) of sculpture and decorative objects, supplying works by established academic sculptors to a cultivated Parisian clientele. Located on the Rue de la Paix, a center of luxury trade, the firm functioned not as a foundry but as an intermediary, commissioning casts from recognized models and offering them through its gallery. 

JEAN-BAPTISTE CLESINGER
Jean-Baptiste Clesinger (1814–1883) was a French sculptor whose career bridged Romantic expressiveness and academic classicism in the mid-19th century. Born Jean-Baptiste Clésinger, he later chose to be known professionally as Auguste. He received his earliest training from his father, George-Philippe Clésinger, an academic sculptor, before continuing his studies under Bertel Thorvaldsen, whose neoclassical rigor and idealized subjects exerted a lasting influence on his work. He also studied architecture with Salvi and spent a brief period in the studio of David d’Angers.

Clesinger’s early career was marked by frequent movement between Switzerland, Florence, and Rome before he settled permanently in Paris in 1845. Ambitious and highly conscious of reputation, he worked actively to cultivate patrons, critics, and institutional recognition. This effort culminated in his sensational debut at the Paris Salon of 1847 with Woman Bitten by a Serpent, a sculpture that drew intense attention for its dramatic realism and Romantic sensuality. The work established his public reputation almost overnight.

Official recognition followed quickly. In 1848, Clesinger was awarded a first-class medal at the Salon for Reclining Bacchante, and in 1849 he was named a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur. He was promoted to the rank of Officier in 1864. During these years, he produced a wide range of ideal figures, allegorical subjects, and portrait sculpture, often combining classical themes with a heightened psychological and emotional charge characteristic of Romantic sculpture.

Clesinger was also attentive to the commercial circulation of his work. He organized public auctions of his sculptures and, between 1868 and 1870, published a catalogue of his oeuvre with texts by Théophile Gautier. Despite these efforts, much of the casting and distribution of his sculpture was handled by the Ferdinand Barbedienne foundry, which played a central role in promoting his work. Clesinger’s sculptures feature prominently in Barbedienne’s 1867 catalogue, and the majority of bronze casts produced during his lifetime bear that firm’s stamp.

Clesinger remained active until his death in Paris in 1883.

MAISON MARNYHAC
Maison Marnyhac was the commercial name used by the Société des Marbres et Bronzes Artistiques de Paris, a Paris-based firm active from the mid-nineteenth century until its closure around 1910. The company operated under the direction of Charles de Marnyhac.

The firm is documented as active by circa 1865, with an early retail presence on rue de la Paix, and associated workshops located on avenue de Wagram. On 29 June 1879, following a corporate reorganization and name change, Maison Marnyhac opened a new large-scale retail gallery at 26 avenue de l’Opéra, which became one of its principal Paris addresses thereafter.

In 1875, Maison Marnyhac expanded internationally with the opening of a London gallery at 163–165 Regent Street. Contemporary reporting in Le Petit Journal (6 July 1875) notes that the gallery was frequented by members of the English aristocracy.

Maison Marnyhac specialized in high-end decorative objects in bronze, marble, and mixed materials. The firm collaborated with leading designer-decorators and sculptors, including Eugène Piat, described in period sources as a leading ornamental designer of his time, and Jean-Baptiste Clesinger, whose models were cast and retailed by the house.

The firm exhibited at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1878, where it was awarded a first-class medal, as recorded by M. E. Bergerat in Les Chefs-d’Oeuvre d’Art à l’Exposition Universelle de 1878 (pp. 187–188). Contemporary criticism of the Exposition explicitly compared Maison Marnyhac with Ferdinand Barbedienne, then regarded as the leading Parisian publisher of artistic bronzes.

Works shown in 1878 demonstrate the breadth of the firm’s production and included objects in Pompeian, Chinese, and Japonisme modes, among them large Chinese-inspired cloisonné vases supported by elephant-head mounts. Maison Marnyhac ceased operations circa 1910.

 

Condition: Rubbing and wear to the original patina throughout, with the face largely relieved of its original patination and now naturally oxidized. Rubbing to raised points consistent with age. Very minor chips to the original red marble base. Replaced screw affixing the sculpture to the base. Carefully cleaned and sealed in conservator’s wax. Ready to place.

ref. 512CPP14Q