Lot Essay
Jean-Joseph Foucou (1739-1815), a pupil of Caffieri and a contemporary of Clodion, was an Acadamecian and a regular contributor to the Salons from 1779-1815.
His works, primarily statues and busts in marble as well as decorative work and small scale sculpture for collectors, are often misattributed to Clodion. Not only is Foucou's choice of subject matter (mythological and allegorical female figures) parallel to Clodion's, but his scale, medium and style are also suggestive of the master. The confusion is furthered by the fact that both sculptors were favored by the same patrons, i.e. the Comte d'Artois, and that many of Foucou's marbles are unsigned.
Other unsigned versions of this Bacchante are known: a marble, 98.2cm. high, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (as a pendant to Bacchante portant un satyre enfant sur l'épaule droite), a marble, 1m. high, Paris Art Market, 1989 (as a pendant to an Erigone) and a terracotta, 88cm. high (as a pendant to Hébé. The present marble, which is signed and dated, helps to distinguish Foucou from his brilliant contemporary and to identify him as an artist in his own right.
His works, primarily statues and busts in marble as well as decorative work and small scale sculpture for collectors, are often misattributed to Clodion. Not only is Foucou's choice of subject matter (mythological and allegorical female figures) parallel to Clodion's, but his scale, medium and style are also suggestive of the master. The confusion is furthered by the fact that both sculptors were favored by the same patrons, i.e. the Comte d'Artois, and that many of Foucou's marbles are unsigned.
Other unsigned versions of this Bacchante are known: a marble, 98.2cm. high, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (as a pendant to Bacchante portant un satyre enfant sur l'épaule droite), a marble, 1m. high, Paris Art Market, 1989 (as a pendant to an Erigone) and a terracotta, 88cm. high (as a pendant to Hébé. The present marble, which is signed and dated, helps to distinguish Foucou from his brilliant contemporary and to identify him as an artist in his own right.