Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Michel, Claude (1738-1814), sculptor
Parallel form(s) of name
- Clodion
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
20 December 1738 – 29 March 1814
History
Known as Clodion, a French Rococo sculptor. Noted for his versatility as an artist and for the lively charm of his figures, which included Grecian nymphs, cherubs, and gods, Clodion was both popular and celebrated in his day. One of his most famous works, Zephyrus and Flora (1799), depicts two fluid figures on the brink of a kiss, similar to the work of the Italian master Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Born on December 20, 1738 in Nancy, France into a family of artists, Clodion came under the tutelage of his uncle in 1755 and worked assisting him in his sculpture workshop. He quickly achieved his own professional success, receiving the grand prize for sculpture at the Académie Royale just four years later. Perhaps best best known for his small-scale terracotta sculptures, Clodion was collected by an international clientele and counted Catherine II among his admirers. At the height of his fame, he also sculpted the relief on the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in Munich. The artist eventually fell out with Parisian society after he was denied admission into the Académie Royale, and the oncoming French Revolution chased him for a time back to Nancy. Clodion died on March 29, 1814 in Paris, France.