Attributed to Jean-Jacques Caffieri (1725-1792) and Workshop

Jean-Jacques Caffieri was one of the greatest French 18th-century sculptors. Trained under Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne (1704-1778), he won the Prix de Rome in 1748, was appointed sculpteur du Roi to Louis XV, and later in life arguably rivalled Houdon in the field of portraiture.

This beautifully conceived group shows a personification of Innocence in the guise of a young woman who washes her hands. She stands before a tripod wreathed in garlands, whilst her right foot rests on a step, and a lamb sits behind her. Roses adorn her hair, and her drapery slips suggestively from her right arm. The model is a quintessential manifestation of the French Rococo style at the court of Louis XV.

Caffieri exhibited his Innocence at the Paris Salon of 1767, no. 204 (Lami, op. cit., p. 155), where it attracted the attention of Diderot, who praised its beauty, but mused upon the ambiguity of the subject. For Diderot there is a tension between the figure's seemingly malevolent smile, unclean hands and luxuriant robes, and the moral quality which she represents.

'L'Innocence. L'Innocence ! Cela l'Innocence ? Cela vous plaît à dire, M. Caffiéri. Elle regarde en coulisse ; elle sourit maligne- ment ; elle se lave les mains dans un bassin placé devant elle sur un trépied. L'Innocence qui est sans la moindre souillure, n'a pas besoin d'ablution. Elle semble s'applaudir d'une malice qu'elle a mise sur le compte d'un autre. La recherche et le luxe de son vêtement réclament contre son prétendu caractère. L'Innocence est simple en tout. Du reste figure charmante, bien composée, bien drapée ; le linge qui dérobe sa cuisse et sa jambe, à miracle ; jolis pieds, jolies mains, jolie tête. Per- mettez que j'efface ce mot, l'Innocence ; et tout sera bien. Vous n'avez pas fait ce que vous vouliez faire, mais n'importe ! que vous avez fait est précieux. ' (as quoted in J. Guiffrey, op. cit., p. 201)

'Innocence. Innocence! This is Innocence? It is if you please to say so, M. Caffieri. She is regarded behind the scenes; she smiles malignantly; she washes her hands in a basin placed in front of her on a tripod. Yet Innocence does not produce dirt, she should have no need of ablutions. She seems to applaud malice on account of another. The detail and luxury of her clothing seems at odds with her so-called character. Innocence is all simplicity. The rest of the charming figure, well composed, well draped; the cloth which falls down her thigh and leg, is a miracle; pretty feet, pretty hands, pretty head. Permit me to erase the word Innocence; and all will be well. You have not made what you want to make, but it is of no importance! That which you have made is precious.'

At least two versions of the Innocence appear to have existed in Caffieri's lifetime. The prime version exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1767 was acquired by Etienne-François, duc de Choiseul-Stainville. This marble has been published by Draper and Scherf as being in a private collection (op. cit., p. 26, fig. 2). From the published photograph it is clear that this marble is inscribed with the subject title 'L'Innocence' in the manner of other marbles by Caffieri, such as his La Sibylle d'Erythrée in the Louvre (1759; inv. no. RF2573). According to the sale catalogue of the duc de Choiseul-Stainville's collection, 18 December 1786, lot 157, this marble measured '30 pouces compris le socle en bois' (which is equivalent to circa 76.2cm).

Interestingly, another or the same version of the model appears in the sale catalogue of Louis-César-Renaud, duc de Choiseul-Praslin's collection, 18 February 1793, lot 191 (sold to Vernon for 425 livres). The lot description reads: 'Une belle figure en marbre blanc, proportion de 30 pouces, caractérisant l'innocence. Ce morceau nous paroît être une copie bien soignée d'une pareille figure par Caffiery' [A beautiful white marble figure, measuring 30 pouces, personifiying Innocence. This piece appears to us to be a well executed copy of an identical figure by Caffieri].

A third Innocence is described in the sale catalogue of the collection of Marie-Madelaine Josephe Aglaé de Cusack, marquise de Langeac sale, 2^nd April 1778, lot 76: 'L'Innocence, sous la figure d'une femme debout : elle est coëffée en cheveux & coronnée de roses : elle a les mains l'une dans l'autre, comme se disposant à les laver. A ses pieds se voit un mouton, sur son socle de pierre noire, hauteur 31 pouces 6 lignes.' [Innocence, under the figure of a standing woman: she is has coiffeured hair and his crowned with roses: she has one hand in the other, as if disposed to wash them. At her feet is seen a sheep, on a socle of black stone, height of 31 pouces and 6 lignes (circa 79cm)]. This marble is sold to the comte de Langeac for 480 livres. The marble then appears in the sale of the comte de Langeac on 11 July 1803.

Lami considers the duc de Choiseul-Stainville's marble (sold in 1786) to be the same as that which appears in the 1803 sale of the comte de Langeac's collection. Given the difference in heights it is possible that Lami is confused and that, in fact, two marbles existed independently of each other in Caffieri's lifetime. The situation is further complicated by the fact that the marble from the duc de Choiseul-Praslin's collection (sold 1793) is described as a copy of Caffieri's model. Only two marbles are known to the cataloguer today, that illustrated by Draper and Scherf in 1997, and the present sculpture. There are small differences between the two, in particular to the sheep (in the present marble the animal's left ear projects in front of the drapery whereas in the other it is concealed). There also appear to be differences in the carving, with more noticeable drilling in the marble illustrated by Draper and Scherf; similar drillwork is seen in the aforementioned autograph La Sibylle d'Erythrée in the Louvre.

The present marble appears to be a rare second version of one of Caffieri's most beautiful metaphorical groups. The marble is beautifully carved and is perfectly conceived in small dimensions which accord with those of the prime Salon version. Its quality and rarity justifies a tentative attribution to Caffieri or his workshop, whilst the apparent existence of two versions of the model in the 18th century is tantalising.

RELATED LITERATURE

J. Guiffrey, Les Caffieri, sculpteurs et fondeurs-ciseleurs : étude sur la statuaire et sur l'art du bronze en France au XVIIe et au XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1877, pp. 200-201; S. Lami, Dictionnaire des sculpteurs de l'école française au dix-huitième siècle, vol.1, Paris, 1911, p. 155; J. D. Draper and G. Scherf, Augustin Pajou: Royal Sculptor: 1730-1809, exh. cat. Musée du Louvre, Paris, and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1997, pp. 25-26, fig. 2