A FRENCH MARBLE BUST OF ARIADNE

The present bust can be identified as Ariadne by the starry crown, which was fetched by Theseus from Thetis’ palace under the sea and later thrown amongst the stars by Bacchus as the Corona Borealis. An important example of French Romantic sculpture, the Egyptianate costume in the necklace and jewelled bodice suggests it is developed from Clésinger’s statue of Cleopatra exhibited at the Salon of 1869. The sensuous treatment of the female nude is characteristic of Clésinger, who took pride in carving his own marbles, unlike most atelier sculptors of the period (P. Fusco/H. W. Janson, The Romantics to Rodin, Los Angeles County Museum, 1980 p. 175)