Isidore Jules Bonheur

Antique Bronze Portrait Draft Horse by Isidore Jules Bonheur (France, 1827-1901)

1870-1879

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...

Antique Bronze Dog Sculpture Chihuahua "La Petite Belle Lydie" Charles Valton (French, 1851-1918) Circa 15 1/2 x 10 1/4 x 7 Lydie is a Chihuahua making her a very rare image from ...

Antique Horse Bronze: Mare in the Stable Playing with a Dog (Good Companions) Jument à l'écurie jouant avec un chien Pierre-Jules Mene (French, 1810-1879) Bronze 19 x 10 inches One of Mene's most beloved bronze, well-loved early example with beautiful rich patina. A sensitive portrait of a horse nuzzling his companion while the terrier is giving kisses to the horse’s nose. Cast by Mene’s own foundry and is very well detailed with a medium brown patina. Pierre-Jules Mêne (1810-1879) was one of the most successful and prolific animalier sculptors of the 19th century, known for his naturalistic representation of animals. Mêne received no formal education in sculpture but was taught to draw and model by his father and later began casting his own sculptures. He was largely self-taught, possessing a keen observation of nature that enabled him to capture the essence of his animal subjects with remarkable accuracy and vivacity. His work debuted at the Paris Salon in 1838, and from that point onwards, he exhibited his sculptures regularly. Mêne specialized in small-scale domestic animals, his subjects often including horses, dogs, bulls, and sheep. Interestingly, almost no big game are found in Mêne's ouevre. Beginning in 1837 as orders started coming in, Mêne worked as Antoine-Louis Barye before him, opening his own foundry where he personally oversaw the manufacture and production of his art. The work produced there bears the hallmark of extraordinary attention to detail and thoughtfulness shown in every element of presentation and assembly. His mastery in the technical aspects of casting bronze without relying on professional founders for the completion of his models gave him a significant advantage in producing his pieces with fine detail and at a lower cost. This operation was expanded in 1852 to handle the casting of models for his new son-in-law, Auguste Cain. Mêne’s sculptures...

Antique Bronze Dog Bulldog Playing with a Mouse on Sheaves of Wheat Henri Émile Adrien Trodoux (1815-1881) 6 1/8 x 3 7/5 inches Signed on the terrace Henri Émile Adrien Trodoux (Fre...

Balancing Elephant Louis-Albert Carvin (France, 1875-1951) Bronze, marble Circa 1930s, Art Deco 8 x 7.5 x 2 (4 1/4 x 7 1/2 x 1 7/8 figure) inches Artist Louis-Albert Carvin, born in Paris in 1875, was exposed to art from an early age through his painter father. Carvin's formal education in art began at the École des Beaux-Arts, where he studied under artists like Émmanuel Frémiet and Georges Gardet. Over the years, artist Louis-Albert Carvin became a renowned sculptor, dedicating his life’s work to the modeling of human and animal figures. He studied under Fremiet and Gardet and became a member of the Société des Artistes Français, exhibiting at the Salon des Artists Francais from 1894 until 1933 winning the Medal of Honor in his first year in 1894. Remarkably, he sculpted La Muse de l’Aviation, the bronze trophy...

Antique Bronze Miniature Barnyard Scene (Cow, Sheep & Goat) Christophe Fratin (France, 1801-1864) Sand cast bronze 5 3/4 x 4 1/4 x 2 1/4 inches Highly refined and sensitively modeled miniature bronze representing a small herd of cattle, sheep and cattle on the terrace. Despite its small size, this bronze offers a complete view of a small herd of livestock: a bull is lying in a landscape near a sheep and a goat climbing a tree above a rocky mound. Here we find the skillful hand of the animalier sculptor Christophe Fratin (French, 1801-1864), immensely famous in the 19th century for his thoughtfully crafted animal...

Life size child on life size tortoise. Combination of young child's imagination and reality.

The dynamic nature of this ecstatic pirouette must be experienced from all sides. Whirlwind examines the forces of attraction and separation in a relationship. The couple’s solid bon...

"On the Wings of an Eagle by Chester Fields is one of his most popular sculptures. This is number 26 of 75 made. It is made with the following: Bronze Casting Deluxe Patina Gold Beak...

Bill Starke's "At Last" is a limited edition, bronze sculpture created by Bill Starke depicting a male figure with out-stretched arms. ( 3/85 ) About the artist: Human beings int...

Ed. 1/6. Bronze sculpture by Bjorn Skaarup of a bear dancing on a ball.

Ed. 2/6. Bronze sculpture by Bjorn Skaarup. Sculpture: 44 x 23 x 23 in. Base: 20 x 27 1/2 x 27 1/2 in.