Jean Gautherin (French, 1840–1890)
Clotilde de Surville, ca. 1880
Bronze, 40 × 16 × 14.5 in.
Foundry: F. Barbedienne, Paris
This bronze, a finely cast reduction of Jean Gautherin’s 1879 marble sculpture, depicts the medieval noblewoman Clotilde de Surville gently cradling her sleeping child. The figure exudes maternal serenity, underscored by a poetic inscription on the plinth attributed to Clotilde herself, dated 1421:
“O cherished and tender image of your father,
Sleep upon the breast your lips have pressed!
On the pure bosom of your mother rest,
Your sweet face weighed down by slumber.”
Clotilde de Surville, believed to have lived in 15th-century France, is remembered as a poet whose verse reflects themes of courtly love, grief, and motherhood. Though her historical existence is debated, her legend has persisted through Romantic-era revivals that celebrated her as a symbol of feminine virtue and literary grace.
Jean Gautherin trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and exhibited regularly at the Salon from 1865. Known for his emotionally resonant sculpture, he was awarded the Légion d’Honneur in 1878. This edition bears the stamp of the Barbedienne foundry and the reduction cachet of Achille Collas.
