Joseph Chinard

M. Villard, Lyons; Heim Gallery, London

Paris 1810, p. 112; Washington, New York, Cambridge, 1979-1982, no. 87, illus.; New York, 1981, no. 51, illus.; Chicago, 1987-88, no. 23; New York, 2004, no. 102, illus.

La Chapelle 1896-97, vol. 1, p. 143

Standard surface abrasions. Some chipping and losses thoughout. Restorations have been sensitively done and include: through the knees and her upper thigh on proper right leg, proper right ankle and wrist, horizontally from elbow to elbow (including neck) probably due to a crack, chip to tip of nose. Horizontal restoration through the neck of the urn (including drapery behind it). Restorations in areas of drapery, particularly the back portion falling on her proper right side. Areas of overpainting to unify surface. Beautifully modeled and generally stable. Very fine quality.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

In this stunning work, Joseph Chinard has chosen as his subject the beautiful Athenian courtesan Phryne, said to have been a lover of the sculptor Praxiteles and the inspiration for his famous Aphrodite of Cnidius.  Chinard has drawn upon the famous ancient marbles so admired by Grand Tourists visiting Italy, including those derived from Praxiteles's masterpiece, the most famous of the type being the Medici Venus and the Capitoline Venus which Chinard would have seen during his stays in Rome.  The clever use of drapery, which frames and emphasizes the delightful figure, also finds inspiration in the Callipygian Venus in Naples (fig. 1).  The view from behind in particular recalls the famous posterior of that sculpture, for which it is named.  In that aspect, as well as in the revealing length of the drapery, the composition also relates to the figure of La Frileuse by Chinard's contemporary Jean-Antoine Houdon.

In the fourth century B.C. Phryne was celebrated for her beauty and was a muse to great artists, at a time when physical beauty was considered to be a sign of divine virtue.  An often recalled story from her life places her disrobed before the judges at the Areopagus, who at the sight of Phryne's nude body were moved to acquit her.  In 1861 Jean-Léon Gérôme showed the episode in his painting Phryné devant l'Areopage.

The stamped signature on the present terracotta was not used after 1787, and stylistically the work seems to date from early in Chinard's career; Draper suggests that it dates from Chinard's first visit to Rome, 1784-1787 (New York 2004 op. cit., p. 218).  Late in his life Chinard retrospectively showed this work at the Salon of 1810, giving it the title Phriné sortant du bain.