Cleveland Museum of Art

Young Woman and Child at Play

Clodion

Date

1780s

Medium

terracotta

Culture

France, 18th century

Department

European Painting and Sculpture

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The French sculptor Claude Michel, called Clodion (1738–1814), constructed much of his work in terracotta. After firing, the unglazed color of the clay can vary widely, so each of Clodion's works in this medium has a slightly different hue, in this case a smooth reddish gray. Clodion depicts a mother nursing her newborn with painstaking attention to detail, from the tendrils of hair that cascade gracefully down to the mother's shoulders to the brilliant bouquet at the pair's feet.

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