CLODION
(b. 1738, Nancy, d. 1814, Paris)

Vase

1770s
Marble, height: 74 cm
Wallace Collection, London

The orthodox classical shape is relieved by the fleshy young Bacchanals; antiquity blends with the 'ancien régime'. Clodion produced many versions of this basic design between 1763 an 1785.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 19 minutes):
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme