SÉRAPHIN DENÉCHEAU | DIANE COUCHÉE SUR CROISSANT DE LUNE

Sale: Sotheby's, Paris, May 21, 2014, lot 34, illustrated

Acquired at the above sale

Seraphin Denécheau studied under the great French sculptors François Rude (1784-1855) and David D'Angers (1788-1856). He exhibited on a regular basis at the Paris Salon beginning in 1859, and his Femme carréssant une chimère was shown at the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris. An artist of portraits, and mythological and allegorical groups, he was given commissions by the Musée du Louvre, the Opéra de Paris, the Gare du Nord, and a number of Parisian churches.

There are numerous extant bronze versions of the artist's Diane couchée sur un croissant de lune, but this luminous marble version is noteworthy because it exhibits a beautifully carved and polished surface. The supple quality of the goddess's skin is enhanced by its contrast with the smooth arc of the crescent moon. Denécheau has balanced the figure on a bank of clouds, creating the illusion that Diana is suspended in the air.