Photo : © Corentin Le Goff
Terminus with the bust of a satyr, horned, head tilted, wearing a lecherous smile, receiving a kiss from a fauness who clasps his waist with her legs, her arms draped around his neck.
René de Saint-Marceaux (sculptor)
France
Reims, September 23, 1845 Paris, April 23, 1915
Material: Terracotta and wood
Technique: Incised model
Dimensions (H x W x D in cm): 40.6 x 12.2 x 12.5 (including the base)
Weight: 2,300 g
Provenance: Bequest of Henry Vasnier, November 1907
Place of Conservation: Museum of Fine Arts (inv. 907.19.405)
There are very few group sculptures in the work of Saint-Marceaux. This imaginative figure is also known as Terminus and Fauness; the title God Pan is justified by the apparent presence of small horns on the male figure’s head. The fauness, full of sensuality, throws herself desperately around the neck of the god who remains fixed in his status as a Terminus. With her face buried in his beard and her lips pressed against his mouth, she seems to awaken this cold bust. Perhaps here lies the eroticism of this statuette, one of Saint-Marceaux’s most daring nudes. It was purchased in Paris in 1893 by Henry Vasnier, a prominent collector and donor to the Museum of Fine Arts of Reims. [MBA, 2015]