Corneille Van Clève ( 10 June 1646 – 31 December 1735) was a French sculptor.

Biography

Clève was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1646 to a family of

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

goldsmiths and baptized on 10 June that year. His grandfather, a merchant goldsmith, immigrated to Paris from

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

and was naturalized by King Henry IV in 1606. Cleve studied under French sculptor François Anguier and received the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

scholarship in 1671. After spending several years there at the

French Academy in Rome The French Academy in Rome (, ) is an academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in Rome, Italy. History The Academy was founded at the Palazzo Capranica in 1666 by Louis XIV under the dire ...

, as well as three years in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, Clève returned to France in 1678. On 26 April 1681, he was formally accepted to the

Académie de Peinture et de Sculpture An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the g ...

upon submission of a marble statue of the cyclops

Polyphemus Polyphemus (; , ; ) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's ''Odyssey''. His name means "abounding in songs and legends", "many-voiced" or "very famous". Polyphemus first ap ...

. Clève would be director of the Académie from 1711 to 1714. Clève enjoyed the patronage of both King Louis XIV and Louis XV, earning the King's pension until his death and sculpting numerous statues for the Palace at Versailles. Clève married Marie-Antoinette De Meaux de Vallicre, half-sister of the famous goldsmith , on 31 January 1682. She died in May 1683, just a few days after giving birth to their only son, Josse. He went on to become a sculptor, working in his father's workshop and earning several awards from the Académie, but would die on 4 June 1711. Clève died during the night of 30-31 December 1732 following a long bout of illness that begun in April 1730.

Selected works

* ''Polyphemus'' (1680-81) –

The Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

, Paris * ''Work at Versailles Palace'' (1681-82) – Worked on the apartment of the

Prince de Conti Prince of Conti (French: ''prince de Conti'') was a French noble title, assumed by a cadet branch of the princely house of Bourbon-Condé. History The title derives its name from Conty, a small town in northern France, c. 35 km southwest of ...

on the ground floor of the South Wing. * ''Cleopatra'' or ''Sleeping

Ariadne In Greek mythology, Ariadne (; ; ) was a Cretan princess, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. There are variations of Ariadne's myth, but she is known for helping Theseus escape from the Minotaur and being abandoned by him on the island of N ...

'' (1684-86) –

Gardens of Versailles The Gardens of Versailles ( ) occupy part of what was once the ''Domaine royal de Versailles'', the royal demesne of the Palace of Versailles, château of Versailles. Situated to the west of the Palace of Versailles, palace, the gardens cover so ...

, Versailles * ''Lion crushing a Wolf'' (1685-87) – Gardens of Versailles, Versailles * ''Mercury'' (1685-87) – Gardens of Versailles, Versailles * ''Cleopatra'' (1665-1700) – The Louvre, Paris * ''

Leda and the Swan Leda and the Swan is a story and subject in art from Greek mythology in which the god Zeus, in the form of a swan, seduces Leda, a Spartan queen. According to later Greek mythology, Leda bore Helen and Polydeuces, children of Zeus, while a ...

'' (1685-1700) – The Louvre, Paris * ''The Rivers

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

and

Loiret Loiret (; ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It takes its name from the river Loiret, which is contained wholly within the department. In 2019, Loiret had a population of 680,434.

'' (1699-1707) – The Louvre, Paris * ''

Psyche Psyche (''Psyché'' in French) is the Greek term for "soul" ( ψυχή). Psyche or La Psyché may also refer to: Psychology * Psyche (psychology), the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious * ''Psyche'', an 1846 book about the unc ...

and Cupid'' (1700-1710) –

National Museum of Western Art The is the premier public art gallery in Japan specializing in art from the Western tradition. The museum is in the Ueno Park in Taitō, central Tokyo. It received 1,162,345 visitors in 2016. History The NMWA was established on June 10, 1959 ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

* ''Venus and Cupid'' (1700-1710) – National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo * ''

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ) by the Gre ...

and Ariadne'' (1704 or before) – Exhibited at the Salon of 1704;

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

* Sanctuary and High Altar (1709-10) – Chapel of Versailles, Versailles

Gallery (partial)

File:Polyphemus Van Cleve Louvre MR2106.jpg, ''Polyphemus'' (1681) File:La Loire et le Loiret - 1699-1707 - Van Clève - Louvre- MR 2107 - picture 01.jpg, ''The Rivers Loire and Loiret'' (1699-1707) File:Psyche Discovering Cupid by Corneille van Cleve, c. 1700-1710 - National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo - DSC08217.JPG, ''Psyche and Cupid'' (1700-1710) File:Venus Disarming Cupid by Corneille van Cleve, detail, c. 1700-1710 - National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo - DSC08225.JPG, ''Venus and Cupid'' (1700-1710)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clève, Corneille van 1646 births 1732 deaths Members of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture Sculptors from Paris French male sculptors French people of Flemish descent 17th-century French sculptors 18th-century French sculptors