Monument à la montgolfière

Clodion (Claude Michel) French

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 552

En 1783, les frères Montgolfier réussissent la première ascension en ballon à air chaud. Le vol, de dix minutes à peine, est l’occasion de nombreuses célébrations. Avant même la fin de l’année, le roi de France décide d’immortaliser l’événement, et Clodion est l’un des sept sculpteurs de talent à concourir pour obtenir la commande. Ici, sa fantaisie s’est envolée : des putti amoncellent des gerbes de blé d’où sera lancée la montgolfière, guidée par la Renommée et portée par Éole, dieu du vent. L’ensemble rococo est difficile à imaginer sculpté dans le marbre. Les vols en ballon allaient vite devenir si courants que le projet artistique fut abandonné.

Model for a Proposed Monument to Commemorate the Invention of the Balloon, Clodion (Claude Michel) (French, Nancy 1738–1814 Paris), Terracotta, French, Paris

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Model for a Proposed Monument to Commemorate the Invention of the Balloon, Clodion (Claude Michel) (French, Nancy 1738–1814 Paris), Terracotta, French, Paris
Model for a Proposed Monument to Commemorate the Invention of the Balloon, Clodion (Claude Michel) (French, Nancy 1738–1814 Paris), Terracotta, French, Paris
Model for a Proposed Monument to Commemorate the Invention of the Balloon, Clodion (Claude Michel) (French, Nancy 1738–1814 Paris), Terracotta, French, Paris
Model for a Proposed Monument to Commemorate the Invention of the Balloon, Clodion (Claude Michel) (French, Nancy 1738–1814 Paris), Terracotta, French, Paris
Model for a Proposed Monument to Commemorate the Invention of the Balloon, Clodion (Claude Michel) (French, Nancy 1738–1814 Paris), Terracotta, French, Paris
Model for a Proposed Monument to Commemorate the Invention of the Balloon, Clodion (Claude Michel) (French, Nancy 1738–1814 Paris), Terracotta, French, Paris
Model for a Proposed Monument to Commemorate the Invention of the Balloon, Clodion (Claude Michel) (French, Nancy 1738–1814 Paris), Terracotta, French, Paris
Model for a Proposed Monument to Commemorate the Invention of the Balloon, Clodion (Claude Michel) (French, Nancy 1738–1814 Paris), Terracotta, French, Paris
Model for a Proposed Monument to Commemorate the Invention of the Balloon, Clodion (Claude Michel) (French, Nancy 1738–1814 Paris), Terracotta, French, Paris
Model for a Proposed Monument to Commemorate the Invention of the Balloon, Clodion (Claude Michel) (French, Nancy 1738–1814 Paris), Terracotta, French, Paris

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