Séraphin Denécheau

Sotheby's, Paris, 21 May 2014, lot 34;

Where acquired by the present collector.

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 Paris 1867 Exposition Universelle. An artist of portraits, and mythological and allegorical groups, he was executed commissions from 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.