Antique French Bronze Sculpture “Young Trapped Elephant” by Emmanuel Fremiet

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Antique French Bronze Sculpture “Young Trapped Elephant” by Emmanuel Fremiet

About the Item

The monumental life-size original of this work was sculpted in 1878 and is presently on display at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. This version is a reduction reworked by Fremiet for the retail market, which in light of its size has had removed the ground elements of twisting ropes and a monkey looking on in amusement. It was commissioned by the Living Artists Acquisition Service in 1877, originally as a Buffalo to present on the terrace of the Trocadéro Palace but as Fremiet did not find the subject interesting he chose to instead sculpt the Young Elephant Trapped. A sensitive and empathetic work, Fremiet does a marvelous job of capturing the youth’s immaturity and shock at having been hobbled by a crude slipknot trap. The present example is inscribed along the corner (translation) “Cast in copper from the Ounyamouesi . It is an exquisite little sculpture with a translucent patina that simply glows and allows the golden-red hue of the metal to shine through brilliantly. Fremiet benefited greatly from the patronage of Comte de Nieuwerkerke who held high cultural office as Surintendant des Beaux Arts under the reign of Napoleon III of the Second Empire. Nieuwerkerke engaged Fremiet to redecorate the Louvre with stand-alone sculptural commissions as well as architectural sculpture for the building; he further commissioned Fremiet to complete the monumental original of “Pan et Oursons” in marble. Fremiet worked hard to define himself not purely as an Animalier, working in an incredibly broad range of subjects and genres. But his animal sculptures remain some of his most memorable and enjoyable, particularly the smaller bronzes of individual animals. Measurements: 6 1/2” H x 5 3/4” W x 2 1/4” D Literature and Further Reading: “The Animaliers“, James Mackay “Bronze Sculpture of Les Animaliers”, Jane Horswell “Art Bronzes“, Michael Forest “Animals in Bronze“, Christopher Payne “Bronzes of the 19th century: Dictionary of bronze sculptors“, Pierre Kjellberg, p. 327-337.

Creator:
Emmanuel Fremiet (Sculptor)
Dimensions:
Height: 6.5 in (16.51 cm)Width: 5.75 in (14.61 cm)Depth: 2.25 in (5.72 cm)
Style:
Romantic (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Bronze
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
Late 19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
circa 19th Century
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Exceptional original condition, no flaws.
Seller Location:
Shippensburg, PA
Reference Number:
Seller: 809SJH28L1stDibs: LU1059021157112

Shop All Emmanuel Fremiet

Emmanuel Fremiet

Emmanuel Frémiet was born in Paris, France in 1824 and was brought into an upper middle-class family that had very close ties to the world of art. His family was filled with great artists and this included his Cousin Sophie who married a famous sculptor called Francois Rude. Emmanuel’s mother was also an accomplished artist who constantly encouraged him and brought him up into the world of art. At the age of five, he was already was receiving formal training in art in a private school. The start at a young age meant he was able to be accepted at the spectacular Ecole des Arts Decoratifs School at the age of sixteen. Throughout this period he learned everything he needed to then become employed by Werner as his head lithographer within a year, whose duties were to prepare drawings of both animals and men. After a long period of convincing by Sophie and Emmanuel, Francois Rude took Emmanuel as a pupil in his studio to further his learning in modeling and sculpture work. Throughout his young life, he spent a lot of time in zoological gardens and participated in dissections of any animals which had passed away during this time. By the age of seven, he had been exposed to a wide range of different wild animals. To further Emmanuel’s path in art, he was appointed the successor of Antoine Louis Barye as Professor of Drawing after Antoine’s death in 1875. With this new position and like many other great sculptors, he spent a lot of time studying and drawing at the morgue and even went to various embalmers across Paris. This was all of his training to give him the exact measurements and to be able to reproduce the muscle and bone structure of the many men and animals that he witnessed. His first sculpture was exhibited in the Paris Salon in 1843 when he was nineteen and he continued to exhibit his magnificent sculptures for the rest of his life at the Salon. He was even awarded various medals and awards from many of his pieces. As he began with the bronze sculptures, he made many small animal bronzes with very fine detail which are nowadays highly sought after by collectors and museums alike. There were many sculptors during this time that crafted pieces in which showed a cruel nature, but Emmanuel was known for the soft and gentle pieces of work which often were amusing. At the age of twenty-five, he was to receive more commissions than any other sculptor before or during his time. It became near impossible to be able to walk the streets without seeing one of Emmanuel’s many smaller bronze sculptures. This amazing sculptor continued crafting works, but also proceeded to train new sculptors, taking on near twenty pupils each time. Unfortunately, this great sculptor passed away in 1910.