Jean-Baptiste, called Auguste CLÉSINGER (Besançon, 1814 - Paris, 1883) Owl on a turtle, 1867 Bronze with patina Cast dated 1867, the year of the beginning of the collaboration between the artist and the Maison Marnyhac & Cie (circa 1865-1894) Signed and dated on the right base: "J. CLESINGER. 1867. Stamp and signature of the founder on the base on the reverse: "MAISON MARNYHAC. 1 Rue de la Paix ". H. 38,5 cm ; L. : 36,7 cm ; Dep : 25 cm Related works: - Auguste Clésinger, Nothing! 1868, bronze Marnyhac, Moulins-sur-Allier, Musée Anne de Beaujeu, inv. 88.10.1 - Auguste Clésinger, Owl and skull, circa 1871, terra cotta, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County museum of art, inv. M.73.61. Created around 1867, the model for this impressive animal group was made by the Romantic artist Auguste Clésinger as a counterpart to his famous group Owl and Skull, also titled Nothing! which the poet Théophile Gautier, a fervent admirer of the artist, described as a "feathered Hamlet" or a memento mori. These two works convey, not without a touch of humor, the symbolism dear to the artist, of the transience of existence. Dissatisfied with Barbedienne's fonts, Clésinger entrusted the publication of this model in 1867 to the Marnyhac company, which specialized in the production of luxury art objects and was created around 1865 by Charles de Marnyhac. As the contract between the two parties stipulated that the quality of each proof would be checked by the sculptor and signed by his hand, we can affirm that this bronze, dated from the first year of their collaboration, was indeed supervised by Clésinger. Satisfied, the sculptor continued his cooperation with this publisher, who cast several other works by Clésinger, including the bust of La Dame aux roses (preserved in the Musée d'Orsay, inv. RF 1781). While it is common to find proofs of Owl on a Turtle about ten centimeters high, proofs measuring about forty centimeters are rare.