Lot Essay
Né à Besançon en 1814, Jean-Baptiste Clésinger (dit Auguste) a fait ses débuts au Salon de 1863 en exposant son buste en marbre représentant le Vicomte de Valadhon. Il s'est spécialisé en portrait et est notamment célèbre pour son colossal buste représentant la Liberté (Champs de Mars Paris). Il a gagné plusieurs médailles et, en 1864, a été fait Officier de la Légion d'Honneur. Il se maria avec la fille de Georges Sand et passa une grande partie de son temps dans les Salons de la haute socitété Parisienne du second Empire, ce qui lui permit de remporter plusieurs commandes de bustes des célébrités de l'époque. Il est considéré comme un des fondateurs du retour à 'la vogue Rococo' du milieu du XIXème siècle en France.
Born in Besançon in 1814, Jean-Baptiste Clesinger (known as Auguste) (d.1883) began exhibiting at the Salon in 1863, making his début with a marble bust of the Vicomte de Valadhon. He specialised in portrait sculpture and is best known for the colossal bust of Liberty on the Champs de Mars in Paris. He won numerous medals and was created Officier de la Legion d'Honneur in 1864. He married the daughter of Georges Sand and moved in fashionable circles during the Second Empire, bringing him many commissions for portrait busts from the celebrities of that period. He is considered one of the initiators of the Rococo revival in mid 19th century France.
Born in Besançon in 1814, Jean-Baptiste Clesinger (known as Auguste) (d.1883) began exhibiting at the Salon in 1863, making his début with a marble bust of the Vicomte de Valadhon. He specialised in portrait sculpture and is best known for the colossal bust of Liberty on the Champs de Mars in Paris. He won numerous medals and was created Officier de la Legion d'Honneur in 1864. He married the daughter of Georges Sand and moved in fashionable circles during the Second Empire, bringing him many commissions for portrait busts from the celebrities of that period. He is considered one of the initiators of the Rococo revival in mid 19th century France.