WORKSHOP OF JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI (1725-1792)FRENCH, LATE 18TH CENTURYRIVER GOD, |

French private collection

Burckhardt, Mobilier Louis XVI, Paris, n.d. (v. 1976), p. 57.
J. Guiffrey, Les Caffieri. Sculpteurs et Fondeurs Ciseleurs, Paris, 1877 (réed. J. Laget), Paris, 1993, p. 186-190;
S. Jervis, A River God by Caffieri. National Art Collections Fund Review, London, 1992, pp. 81-85

In overall good condition with minor surface dirt, notably in the crevices, and a few minor chips along the edges and to the high points in some places consistent with age and handling. A toe on his proper left foot is missing, and there is a minor chip to the leafs in his crown.
"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."

Jean-Jacques Caffieri was born into a prosperous family of sculptors with Italian origin. He was first trained by his father Jacques, a sculptor and bronze caster, before entering Jean-Baptiste II Lemoyne's (1704-1778) studio laying the foundations of his skill as a portraitist. From 1748 to 1754, Caffieri will be a 'pensionnaire' at the Académie de France in Rome. Upon his return to Paris, he prepared works for the Salon in 1757, among them a few sketches and 'une figure représentant un Fleuve'. A contemporary of Houdon, Caffieri was notably renowned for his skill as a portraitist, and was author of a great number of busts, including the portraits of Corneille, la Fontaine and Rameau. In 1759, Caffieri presented his marble version of a Rivergod  as his morceau de reception permitting him to be accepted at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture (today in the Louvre, inv. n° MR 1773), showing a seated man holding an urn. The composition of our Rivergod is different : the bearded man is here - following the antique tradition - seated with his legs stretched to the side, leaning against an urn from which water pours, and holding a paddle in the other hand. Our terracotta is identical to a Rivergod in the Fitzwilliam museum in Cambridge (inv. n° M.6-1992), signed and dated like ours 1755. It has been suggested that the Cambridge terracotta is the 'figure de Fleuve' presented by Caffieri in the Salon of 1757. Another terracotta version, slightly larger, signed and dated 1772 may certainly have been a private commission to the artist almost 20 years later (Sotheby's Paris, collection Dillée march 18, 2015, lot 81, sold 75 000 €).
Rivergods have always been a fascination for sculptors. The antique marbles of Tiber and Nile, rediscovered in 1512 and 1523 (Rome, Vatican museums), served as a source of inspiration. Also, Caffieri must have known his master's Oceanus, made by Lemoyne in 1740 for the Versailles gardens, as well as Robert Le Lorrain's terracotta Rivergod from the 1737 Salon (Louvre, inv. n° RF2492). But it is certainly his impressions of Rome which he took home with him, seeing Gianlorenzo Bernini's fountain of the Quattro Fiumi which inspired Caffieri to make this Rivergod. This finely modelled terracotta illustrates perfectly the Roman Baroque and Caffieri's skill in rendering a muscular body in fresh clay, the treatment of beard and hair, showing the artist's talent.