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Style of Clodion

Monumental Urn, c. 1860

West Building, Main Floor — East Sculpture Hall

Medium

marble

Dimensions

overall: 131.5 x 97.1 cm (51 3/4 x 38 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Andrew W. Mellon Collection

Accession Number

1940.2.2

Artists / Makers

Clodion (sculptor) French, 1738 - 1814

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
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Inscription

on relief medallion, on base of statue of Pan: CLODION / 1782.

Provenance

Anatoly Nikolaievich Demidov, prince of San Donato [1812-1870], near Florence;[1] Paul Pavlovich Demidov, prince of San Donato [1839-1885], near Florence; (Demidov sale, at their residence, San Donato, March 1880, no. 106/107).[2] Mme Isaac Pereire, Paris; (her sale, Galerie Jean Charpentier, Paris, 4 June 1937, no. 89/90);[3] (Goldschmidt, London). (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris), by August 1937;[4] by exchange to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1940 to NGA.

[1] According to notes in NGA curatorial files, this urn and NGA 1940.2.3 are recorded in the San Donato catalogue as having been executed for Versailles, although there is no proof to substantiate this.

[2] The urn is either lot 106 or 107.

[3] The sale catalogue identified the seller as "Mme I.P." The urn is either lot 89 or 90.

[4] Provenance prior to the Mellon Trust is according to David Finley's notebook, donated to the National Gallery of Art in 1977, and now in Gallery Archives.

Associated Names

Demidov, prince of San Donato, Anatoly Nikolaievich
Demidov, prince of San Donato, Paul Pavlovich
Duveen Brothers, Inc.
Galerie Charpentier
Pereire, Isaac, Mme
Sale, San Donato

Bibliography

1941: Preliminary Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1941: 220, no. A-43.

1942: Book of Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 254, repro. 219.

1949: Paintings and Sculpture from the Mellon Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1949 (reprinted 1953 and 1958): 172, repro.

1959: Wark, R. R. Sculpture in the Huntington Collection. San Marino, California, 1959: 74.

1965: Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 148.

1968: National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 131, repro.

1972: Hovey, Walter Read. "The Arts in Changing Societies: Reflections Inspired by Works of Art in the Frick Art Museum, Pittsburgh." Five Lectures, delivered at the Frick Art Museum, 1970-1971 (1972): fig. 26.

1973: Finley, David Edward. A Standard of Excellence: Andrew W. Mellon Founds the National Gallery of Art at Washington. Washington, 1973: 62.

1991: Scherf, Guilhem. "Autour de Clodion: variations, répétitions, imitations." Revue de l'Art 91 (1991): 47-59, repro. 8-9.

1992: Poulet, Anne L., and Guilhem Scherf. Clodion: 1738-1814. Exh. cat. Musée du Louvre, Paris, 1992: 214.

1994: Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: 45, repro.

1999: Norman Herz, Katherine A. Holbrow and Shelley G. Sturman. "Marble Sculture in the National Gallery of Art: a Provenance Study." In Max Schvoerer, ed. Archéomatériaux: marbres et autres roches: ASMOSIA IV, Bordeaux, France 9-13 october 1995: actes de la IVème Conférence international de l’Association pour l’étude des marbres et autres roches utilizes dans le passé. Talence, 1999: 101-110.

2008: Miner, Carolyn. "Pair of ornamental urns." In Bennett, Shelley, and Carolyn Sargentson, eds. French Art of the Eighteenth Century at the Huntington. New Haven, 2008: 466-467.