# Jean-Baptiste Clésinger artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/jean-baptiste-clesinger/
Profile generated: 2026-05-09T22:54:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1814-10-20
- Death date: 1883-01-06
- Nationality: French
- Movements: 19th-century French academic sculpture
- Common media: sculpture (marble, bronze), painting, drawing

## About Jean-Baptiste Clésinger

Jean-Baptiste Auguste Clésinger (1814–1883) was a French sculptor, painter, and draftsman active in Paris during the second half of the 19th century. Born in Besançon on 20 October 1814, he trained under his father, the sculptor Georges Philippe Clésinger, absorbing the academic sculptural tradition from an early age. Clésinger produced figurative sculpture in marble and bronze, working within the neoclassical and academic conventions that shaped French public and private commissions of the era. He exhibited at the Paris Salon and attracted both institutional and private patrons over a career spanning several decades. Today his sculptural output—ranging from portrait busts and allegorical groups to animalier subjects—reflects the breadth of 19th-century French atelier practice. His name appears in standard scholarly references including Bénézit's critical dictionary of artists and the Union List of Artist Names. Clésinger died in Paris on 6 January 1883.

## Common works and media

Common works by Jean-Baptiste Clésinger include marble and bronze sculptures such as portrait busts, figurative statuettes, allegorical groups, and animalier subjects. Bronze editions may carry foundry marks or inscriptions. Paintings and drawings by Clésinger also appear at auction, though sculpture dominates his known output. With over 460 works recorded in auction databases, he is a recurring presence in 19th-century European sculpture sales.

## Market and appraisal context

Jean-Baptiste Clésinger maintains a steady mid-range presence in European sculpture auctions. Appraisily auction records index 59 lots offered between October 2007 and April 2026, with 27 carrying a recorded price. The price distribution spans €180 at the low end to €16,000 at the high end, with a median of €1,700 and an interquartile range of €650–€3,600 (all EUR). The bulk of activity concentrates in the €500–€4,000 band for bronze statuettes, portrait busts, and small-scale figurative groups. Bronze works edited by Maison Barbedienne—among the most recognized 19th-century French foundries—appear repeatedly, including lots titled 'Taureau Romain,' 'Zingara,' and a Barbedienne-marked portrait bust. Marble busts and larger-scale compositions command the upper tier. Paintings and drawings surface occasionally (e.g., an Italian landscape oil at Osenat, €781) but represent a secondary market segment. Liquidity is moderate: 6 lots in the trailing 12 months versus 7 in the prior 12 months, indicating consistent if not high-volume turnover. Primary venues include Hampel Fine Art Auctions (Germany), Carlo Bonte Auctions (Belgium), Historia Auctionata, and Auktionshaus Mehlis, with occasional appearances at Christie's, Bonhams, Sotheby's, and Osenat. The recurring presence of European regional houses alongside blue-chip names reflects a collector base spanning both decorative-arts buyers and 19th-century sculpture specialists.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Jean-Baptiste Clésinger maintains a steady mid-range presence in European sculpture auctions. Appraisily auction records index 59 lots offered between October 2007 and April 2026, with 27 carrying a recorded price. The price distribution spans €180 at the low end to €16,000 at the high end, with a median of €1,700 and an interquartile range of €650–€3,600 (all EUR). The bulk of activity concentrates in the €500–€4,000 band for bronze statuettes, portrait busts, and small-scale figurative groups. Bronze works edited by Maison Barbedienne—among the most recognized 19th-century French foundries—appear repeatedly, including lots titled 'Taureau Romain,' 'Zingara,' and a Barbedienne-marked portrait bust. Marble busts and larger-scale compositions command the upper tier. Paintings and drawings surface occasionally (e.g., an Italian landscape oil at Osenat, €781) but represent a secondary market segment. Liquidity is moderate: 6 lots in the trailing 12 months versus 7 in the prior 12 months, indicating consistent if not high-volume turnover. Primary venues include Hampel Fine Art Auctions (Germany), Carlo Bonte Auctions (Belgium), Historia Auctionata, and Auktionshaus Mehlis, with occasional appearances at Christie's, Bonhams, Sotheby's, and Osenat. The recurring presence of European regional houses alongside blue-chip names reflects a collector base spanning both decorative-arts buyers and 19th-century sculpture specialists.

### Appraisal notes

An Appraisily appraisal for a Clésinger work would combine the artist's authority-file identity (Library of Congress, VIAF, RKD, Wikidata) with comparable auction evidence drawn from these 59 indexed lots. The appraiser would photograph the work, record dimensions, medium (marble vs. bronze vs. other), any foundry marks or inscriptions (Barbedienne, Marnyhac, or others), signature placement, surface condition, patina quality, and base or plinth details. Provenance documentation—exhibition history, prior sale records, or collection labels—would be cross-referenced against the auction record set to position the work within the observed price distribution. Edition size and foundry attribution are material value drivers: Barbedienne-edition bronzes carry a premium and are more readily comparable, while unique marble works require closer analysis of scale, subject, and condition. The appraiser would also flag the attribution risk arising from confusion with works by Georges Philippe Clésinger (the artist's father), and would note where a lot description includes 'd'après' or 'after,' signaling that the work is a later reproduction rather than a lifetime cast.

### Valuation factors

- Medium and material: bronze statuettes typically realize €180–€3,900; marble busts and larger-scale works can reach the upper end of the observed range up to €16,000
- Foundry mark and edition: presence of a Barbedienne or Marnyhac mark adds attribution confidence and collector recognition; 'd'après' or 'after' designations reduce value
- Scale: lot descriptions reference heights from ~16 cm (small animalier subjects) to 57 cm (full-figure bronzes); larger works command higher prices
- Subject matter: female figurative groups (reclining nudes, dancing figures, 'Sapho,' 'Zingara') and animalier subjects ('Taureau Romain') are the most frequently offered categories
- Attribution clarity: works must be distinguished from those of Georges Philippe Clésinger (father), as older sale records occasionally conflate the two sculptors
- Condition and patina: original patina quality, surface wear, repairs, and base integrity materially affect value in bronze works
- Provenance and exhibition history: works tied to documented Salon exhibitions or known 19th-century collections carry a premium
- Painting and drawing scarcity: Clésinger's paintings and drawings appear infrequently at auction and lack sufficient comparable data for confident valuation without additional specialist research

### Collector notes

- Clésinger bronzes trade most often in the €500–€3,600 range; expect to pay near or above the median (€1,700) for well-attributed Barbedienne-edition pieces in good condition
- Hampel Fine Art Auctions (Munich) lists Clésinger material most frequently—often multiple lots per sale—making it a primary venue for monitoring new supply
- Blue-chip house appearances (Christie's, Bonhams, Sotheby's) are sporadic but tend to feature higher-quality or larger-scale works; a Bonhams bust realized €2,000 in 2023
- Many recent lots at regional houses carry no published price result (bought-in, withdrawn, or post-sale private negotiation), so the effective liquidity is lower than the raw lot count suggests
- Pairs and groups (e.g., the April 2026 pair of Clésinger & Maison Marnyhac bronze statues at €1,200) may represent relative value compared to single-figure lots in the same price band
- Works catalogued as 'd'après' or 'after' Clésinger are later reproductions, not lifetime casts, and should be valued accordingly
- The painting segment is thin (one observed landscape at €781); buyers considering Clésinger oils or works on paper should seek specialist comparables beyond the indexed record set

### Market caveats

- Of 59 indexed lots, only 27 (46%) carry a recorded realized price; the remainder have null price data, which may indicate bought-in lots, withdrawn lots, or post-sale private negotiations not reflected in the distribution
- The auction-date span (2007–2026) is broad; older results may not reflect current market conditions, particularly for works that sold before the post-2020 surge in 19th-century sculpture interest
- Clésinger's father, Georges Philippe Clésinger, was also an active sculptor, and some older auction records may misattribute works between the two; collectors and appraisers should verify signatures, foundry marks, and catalogue references
- Lot titles in the record set are sometimes truncated (e.g., 'AFTER, '' or 'A'), limiting the ability to assess subject matter and edition details from metadata alone
- The observed price distribution is denominated in EUR across European auction houses; currency conversion and regional demand differences may affect comparability for non-European transactions
- No explicit lot categories were provided in the auction records; categories listed are inferred from existing profile data and lot-title analysis

### Market evidence sources

- undefined: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/jean-baptiste-clesinger/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-jean-baptiste-clesinger-1814-1983-d-apres-barbedienne-paris-183-c-b3a1a021f6
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-jean-baptiste-clesinger-maison-marnyhac-a-paris-pair-of-bronze-statues-with-brown-and-gilded-patina-19th-century-231-c-0924620a35
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-jean-baptiste-clesinger-1814-1883-after-3801-c-ae27390e44
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-jean-baptiste-clesinger-1814-1883-a-3996-c-b36d6defcc

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from authority files, museum records, and published scholarly references with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Jean-Baptiste Clésinger, identity data is grounded in the Library of Congress Name Authority File, VIAF, the RKD (Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie), and Wikidata.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2871155
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_Cl%C3%A9singer
- VIAF (OCLC): https://viaf.org/viaf/7526340/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n2011072853
- RKD (Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/109312
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500030161