Sappho

James Pradier was a Swiss / French Neoclassical sculptor of the first half of the 19th century. Through public commission and private exhibition, his work quickly secured his position as one of the great sculptors of his day. From the façade of the Palais du Luxembourg to Napoleon’s tomb at the Place des Invalides, his work can be seen all over Paris.

Pradier was obsessed with the romanticized figure of Sappho that was popular in the 19th century — the ‘burning Sappho’ of Byron’s Isles of Greece — and he sculpted several versions of Sappho throughout his career. Most enduring is the marble original on which the present bronze is based. While it was on exhibit at the Salon in 1852, Pradier died suddenly. His Sappho — already evocative of deep despair — was shrouded in a black veil, and Pradier was awarded the Medal of Honour. To this day, Pradier’s Sappho occupies a prominent place in the hall of sculpture on the ground floor of the Musée d’Orsay.