Charles Valton

Rare, Antique, Life-Size Dog Bronze of a Chihuahua "Lydie" Charles Valton. 1890s

1890s

Antique Bronze Portrait of a Draft Horse Isidore Jules Bonheur (France, 1827-1901) Circa 1840s Cast bronze mounted on a rectangular plinth atop a marble s...

"Saddled Horse Playing with a Dog"  Pierre Lenordez (1815-1892)  Bronze with green marble base, circa 1860 11 x 7 inches Painter and sculptor, professor at the Academy of Fine Arts ...

Antique Horse Bronze  "Horse  in the Stable Playing with a Dog (The Good Companions)" Jument à l'écurie jouant avec un chien Pierre-Jules Mene (French, 1810-1879) Bronze 19 x 10 inc...

Antique Horse Bronze Portrait of a Trotting Stallion Isidore Jules Bonheur (France, 1827-1901) Cast bronze mounted on a rectangular plinth with dark brown patina, Signed: I. BONHEUR 17 x 11 3/4 A brilliant exploration of a stallion in full trot. The patina is a deep, warm walnut brown with honey-colored tones. Isidore Bonheur was best known and the most distinguished of the 19th century French animalier sculptors. Isidore, the younger brother of Rosa Bonheur and older brother of Auguste, began his studies of painting initially with his father, who was friends with Francisco Goya. By 1848 he debuted at the Paris Salon having discontinued animal and landscape painting to concentrate on creating sculptures and in 1849, Bonheur enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. He won medals at the Paris Salon in 1859 and did so again in 1865 and in 1869. After entering the Exposition Universelle 1855, he won the Gold Medal in 1889. In the 1870s exhibited in the London at the Royal Academy of Arts where he earned great prestige and won the coveted Medaille d’Or. After winning numerous other medals and prizes, Bonheur was awarded the Legion d' Honneur in 1895 and he was Knighted in Portugal, Spain and France. Bonheur continued exhibiting at the Paris Salon until 1899. Many of his bronzes were fabricated at the foundry owned by Hippolyte Peyrol, Bonheur's brother-in-law by marriage to Isidore’s youngest sister Juliette Bonheur. The Peyrol casts for both Rosa and Isidore are exceptionally well executed which suggests a strong working relationship between the founder and sculptor. There is little doubt that Isidore Bonheur was an acute observer of nature; his animals were not anthropomorphized but modelled to catch movement or posture characteristics of the particular species he was sculpting. He achieved this most successfully with his sculptures of horses which are usually depicted as relaxed rather than spirited. These figures are among his most renowned works and his equestrian models became very popular, particularly among the British aristocracy. An acute observer of nature, his sculptures reflect his commitment to the Realist school - with precise detailing of the movements of animals in their natural habitats. Ultimately, His naturalistic studies of animals are now some of the most highly sought after works by any of the animalier. He was possibly inspired by his many visits to the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show...

This sculptor is not only an artist, but a vetrinarian. She knows anatomy as well as she knows breeds and behaviors.. This beautiful bronze depicts a German Shepherd Dog searching ...

Francesco Messina (Linguaglossa 1900 – Milan 1995), Fisherman (1930) Bronze sculpture measuring 131 x 52 x 65 cm, signed and dated 1930 on the base. Francesco Messina’s Fisherman w...

Alfio Castelli (Senigallia 1917 – Rome 1992), Altar boy Bronze sculpture of 58 x 40 x 20 cm signed lower left.

JEAN-BAPTISTE CARPEAUX 1827 - 1875 Le Chinois N°1 (study for Asia) (1868). Model from the observatory fountain. Sketch Height ca.60 cm A similar copy auctioned on June 22, 2023, at ...