Clémence-Sophie De Sermézy (1767 - 1850) - Lot 246

Clémence-Sophie De Sermézy (1767 - 1850) Daphnis and Chloe Original terracotta Small accidents, notably on the signature Dated and signed on the side: "mars 1823(?)/ D Ve de Sermezy", (for Daudignac Veuve de Sermezy) Bears the inscription incised in the terracotta: "Parmy aucunes fois il luy monstroit / à jouer de la fûte"; Titled in pencil on the side "Daphnis et Chloé". H. 21.5 cm - W. 19.5 cm - D. 12 cm LJ Bibliography Anne Tapissier, Madame de Sermézy. Élève de Chinard, Lyon, Audin, 1936, work listed under n°72 p.66 This original terracotta was created by one of the first female sculptors of the 19th century, Clémence-Sophie de Sermezy, née Dandignac. Introduced to Lyon's literary and artistic circles, she held a famous salon. She became a pupil of sculptor Joseph Chinard between 1794/95 and 1799, and excelled in portraiture (notably of Lyon's most eminent personalities). A victim of her royalist friendships, her studio was ransacked in 1815 by soldiers of the Armée des Alpes, and much of her work destroyed. She became an associate member of the Académie de Lyon in September 1819, and presented her work at a public exhibition in 1827 at the Hôtel de Ville de Lyon. From the 1820s onwards, C. S de Semerzy made a specialty of small intimate or mythological scenes in terracotta, most often accompanied by a quotation incised into the clay, here "Parmy aucunes fois il luy monstroit / à jouer de la fûte", taken from one of the most famous Greek novels, Daphnis et Chloé ou les Pastorales de Longus.