CLÉSINGER, Auguste
(b. 1814, Besançon, d. 1883, Paris)

Angel of Grief

1850
Stone
Saint-Sulpice, Paris

Under the Second Empire there were a large number of commissions for the interior decoration of churches Frescoes, paintings, and sculptures). Artists generally enjoyed greatest freedom in the interior decoration than in decorating the outer façades. Clésinger's Angel is an example in which the artist gave free rein to a lyricism that was particularly expressive in the drapery.