French sculpture is the sculptural art of France in marble, stone, bronze, terracotta and wood, from the carved portals of Gothic cathedrals to the bronzes of Rodin and beyond. For much of the period that matters to collectors, France was the leading centre of European sculpture, supported by royal patronage, the Academy and the annual Salon exhibitions in Paris.
Under Louis XIV sculptors such as François Girardon and Antoine Coysevox filled Versailles and its gardens with mythological groups and portrait busts. The eighteenth century brought the graceful terracottas of Clodion and the penetrating portraits of Jean-Antoine Houdon, while the Romantic and Second Empire periods saw the expressive work of François Rude, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux and Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, many of whose designs were issued as commercial bronzes. Later in the nineteenth century Auguste Rodin transformed the medium, and the animaliers made the animal subject a speciality. For collectors, French sculpture covers original marbles and terracottas, Salon pieces and the vast production of editioned bronzes and reductions. Quality of modelling and finish, signatures, foundry marks and provenance all influence value. Sculpture of this kind brings presence to a hall, library or garden room.
