Paula Blackman Art

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

Animal sculptor Sophie MARTIN creates from inert clay a whole living animal kingdom. She freely observes the animal and captures and interprets a movement; and places it in nature an...

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Jules Bastien LePage Bronze 14 1/4 x 10 1/8 inches Augustus Saint-Gaudens was born in 1848 in Dublin, Ireland. His father, Bern...

Dubucand Alfred 1828-1894 Two Hunting Dogs, Bronze on a Marble Base The Bronze with the monogram 'E.V.' and the number '2958' Two Hunting Dogs, Group Signed Alfred Dubucand, Fren...

"This piece was commissioned by the American Animal Hospital Association as an award for the best veterinary hospital in animal care. After a lot of ha...

Ed. 2/6. Bronze sculpture by Bruno Lucchesi of a woman sitting.

Mathurin Moreau (1822-1912) A Belle Epoque bronze statue depicting an Allegory of Spring with a seated maiden looking over to view two birds as a putto gathers a bundle of flowers...

Edition of 9 American, b. 1958 National Sculpture Society Fellow Jim Rennert was born in 1958, and grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Salt Lake City, Utah. After ten trying years o...

Sculpture of two boys displaying a sizeable catch. Edition of 50

Sculpture of a woman representing the element of earth.

Bronze sculpture engraved with the Artist's signature and edition number. 25/45