Jean-Baptiste Auguste Clésinger (22 October 1814 – 5 January 1883) was a 19th-century French sculptor and painter.

Life

Auguste Clésinger was born in

Besançon Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capi ...

, in the

Doubs Doubs (, ; ; ) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.department of France. His father, Georges-Philippe, was a sculptor and trained Auguste in art. Auguste first exhibited at the

Paris Salon The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

in 1843 with a bust of vicomte Jules de Valdahon and last exhibited there in 1864. At the 1847 Salon, he created a sensation with his '' Woman Bitten by a Serpent'', produced from life-casts from his model Apollonie Sabatier (the pose being particularly suitable for such a method), thus reinforcing the scandal with an erotic dimension. Appolonie Sabatier was a salonnière and the mistress of

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...

and others. The sculpture's beauty was praised by

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...

: Clésinger also portrayed Sabatier as herself, in an 1847 marble sculpture now at the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...

. He produced busts of Rachel Félix and of Théophile Gautier, and a statue of

Louise of Savoy Louise of Savoy (11 September 1476 – 22 September 1531) was a French noble and regent, Duchess ''suo jure'' of Auvergne (province), Auvergne and House of Bourbon, Bourbon, Duchess of Nemours and the mother of King Francis I of France, Francis I ...

(now in the

Jardin du Luxembourg The Jardin du Luxembourg (), known in English as the Luxembourg Garden, colloquially referred to as the Jardin du Sénat (Senate Garden), is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. The creation of the garden began in 1612 when Mar ...

). He received the knight's cross of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 1849 and rose to an officer of the order in 1864. In 1847, he married

George Sand Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. Being more renowned than either Victor Hugo or Honoré de Balz ...

's daughter, Solange Dudevant. In 1849, the couple had a daughter, Jeanne, nicknamed Nini, who died in 1855 shortly after her parents' separation. At the death of the composer-pianist

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

on 17 October 1849, Clésinger made Chopin's death mask and a cast of his hands. He also sculpted, in 1850, the white marble funerary monument of ''

Euterpe Euterpe (; , from + ) was one of the Muses in Greek mythology, presiding over music. In late Classical times, she was named muse of lyric poetry. She has been called "Giver of delight" by ancient poets. Mythology Euterpe was born as one of t ...

'', the muse of music, for Chopin's grave at the

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

, in Paris. Clésinger died in Paris on 5 January 1883. He is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery (division 10). His heir was his model and mistress Berthe de Courrière.

Selected works

* 1847 : '' Woman Bitten by a Serpent'', marble,

* 1848 : ''Bacchante'', a variation after the ''Woman bitten by a serpent'', marble, Musée du Petit-Palais * 1847 : ''Louise of Savoy'', stone statue,

* 1857 : ''Battle of the Roman bulls'', painted plaster, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Besançon * 1857 : ''The infant Hercules strangling the serpents of Envy'', bronze, Musée d'Orsay * 1869 : ''Nereid'' groupe en marbre, Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'archéologie de Besançon * 1854 : Sappho, plaster, Musée municipal de

Châlons-en-Champagne Châlons-en-Champagne () is a city in the Grand Est region of France. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reims. Formerly called Châlons ...

* 1865 : ''Femme à la rose'', bronze, Musée d'Orsay

Biblical art

He produced life-size statues for the side chapels of the Église de la Madeleine in

, of the Via Dolorosa, the Pietà, the Entombment, the Resurrection and ascension.

Notes and references

External links

Biographies of Auguste Clésinger
* Musée de la Vie romantique, Hôtel Scheffer- Renan, Paris
Les amis de George Sand
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clesinger, Auguste 1814 births 1883 deaths 19th-century French painters French male painters Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Artists from Besançon Officers of the Legion of Honour 19th-century French sculptors French male sculptors 19th-century French male artists