AUGUSTE CLÉSINGER | Helen of Troy

marble ; on a circular marble plinthExecuted circa 1865

Private collection, Saint-Raphaël, South of France
Var Enchères - Arnaud Yvos SVV, 5 November 2011, lot 110 (acquired from the above sale by the present owners)

RELATED LITERATURE
A. Estignard, Clésinger: sa vie, ses oeuvres, Paris, 1900, pp. 84, 85 and 166, ill. 88
S. Lami, Dictionnaire des sculpteurs de l'école française au XIXe siècle, Paris, 1914, vol. I, p. 401
F. Rionnet, Les Bronzes Barbedienne, l'Oeuvre d'une dynastie de fondeurs, Paris, 2016, p. 290, Cat. 545

Overall the condition of the marble is fairly good, with surface dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age and handling. There is dirt particularly in the crevices. The surface appears to have been slightly weathered, probably due to outside exposure, and appears to have been re-polished. There are some small chips along the edges and to the high points in areas, consistent with age and handling. The edge of the terrace near her proper left foot, where the marble is signed dated and localised - has been broken in 5 pieces and reattached with joints visible and a loss to the front. There are a few losses to the drapery, notably one loss to her proper left side at knee height, one to the rear folds of the drapery to her proper right side, and a larger one on the terrace, to the back of her proper right foot. There are small chips along the edges of the circular marble base, and there is a restored break to the bottom edge.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Born in Besançon, Jean-Baptiste-Auguste Clesinger learned sculpting from his father, Georges-Phipippe Clesinger, who brought him to Rome in 1832. His Femme piquée par un serpent caused controversy among the Parisian audience at the Salon de 1847, and is today exhibited in the great hall of the Musée d'Orsay. The details of the skin were so sharp and the eroticism so powerful that he was accused of creating moulds from life. The model is in fact Apollonie Sabatier, Theophile Gautier's muse, known as La Présidente. The latter's "salon" of rue Frochot used to gather poets and writers who shared a great freedom of mind and behaviour, to be far away from social conventions.

She is the woman with a shawle in Courbet's workshop painting to whom Baudelaire clandestinely addressed marvelous poems: 

... Ainsi je voudrais une nuit

Quand l'heure des voluptés sonne

Vers les trésors de ta personne

Comme un lâche ramper sans bruit... 

The same year, Clesinger married Solange Dudevant, George Sand's daughter, from whom he separated a few years later.

The sculptor met Gustave Courbet at the art school of Besançon. They remained friends throughout their life. Clesinger was first interested in romanticism and naturalism. He had to sell sculpture to make a living. A highly acclaimed exhibition featured their work together in 2011, in Ornans.

Extremely gifted, Clesinger came back to a perfectly mastered neoclassicism at some point in his career.

The work here presented dates from 1865. Helen of Troy, daughter of Zeus and Leda, wife of Menelaus, the king of Spartacus, is kidnapped by Paris and brought back to Troy. Aphrodite (the Judgment of Paris) had promised the Trojan prince the most beautiful woman in the world. It started a war that resonated in history.

In this Carrara marble sculpture, the treatment of the drapery, the motion of the fingers clutching the pearl necklace and the beautiful calm and classic face of Helen highly contrast with the havoc she and Paris have provoked.

Marianne Nahon

It seems that this marble is the only replica with the same dimensions as the marble carved 1864 and mentioned circa 1900 in the collection of the Countess of Jumilhac, sold by Sotheby's London, 11 July 2001, lot 215 ( GBP 91,500).