Antoine Coysevox (1640 - 1720)

The flute-playing faun after Antoine Coysevox

Antoine Coysevox (1640 - 1720)

The flute-playing faun after Antoine Coysevox

190 x 70 x 60 cm (74 ³/₄ x 27 ¹/₂ x 23 ⁵/₈ inches)
France eighteenth century

DESCRIPTION +

The flute-playing faun
Terracotta
France, eighteenth century.
Height 190 cm; Width 70 cm; Depth 60 cm.

An important terracotta sculpture of a faun playing the transverse flute. A strap that crosses the bust holds a lion skin on the hips, making the transition between the anthropomorphic sculpture and the lower part in the form of a sheath decorated with stylised leaves. The faun's attributes reappear beneath the sheath, which is supported by two goat's feet resting on a smooth slab.

The model for this sculpture comes from Antoine Coysevox's Faun or Singing Shepherd (1640-1720). This was made in marble around 1710 as a royal commission for the gardens of the Château de Marly. It entered the Louvre collections in 1870.

Antoine Coysevox