-
Social Sharing
River God (The River Rhine Separating the Waters)
Artwork Viewer
Though clay was traditionally a preparatory medium, used to sketch out models for monumental compositions, Clodion gained renown for terracotta statuettes like this one, prized by collectors as independent works of art. Inspired by the Roman Baroque fountains of Gianlorenzo Bernini, Clodion here depicted a river god separating the water that gushes from an urn into the many branches of the Rhine River. Capturing the contorted deity and pulsating water, Clodion’s vigorous modeling highlights–rather than conceals—his process. An inventory of the sculptor’s belongings taken after his death lists a “Sketch in terracotta representing a river”: possibly this very work.
- Artist
- Clodion (Claude Michel)
- Title
- River God (The River Rhine Separating the Waters)
- Date
- 1765
- Place of Creation
- Paris
- Object Type
- Sculpture
- Medium
- Terracotta
- Dimensions
- 12 1/8 x 18 in. (30.8 x 45.7 cm)
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase, Gift of Various Donors by Exchange and Whitney Warren Jr. Bequest Fund in memory of Mrs. Adolph B. Spreckels
- Accession Number
- 1989.17