CAST BY HIPPOLYTE PEYROL FROM A MODEL BY ISIDORE JULES BONHEUR, LAST QUARTER 19TH CENTURY

Although best-known as one of the 19th century's most distinguished animalier sculptors, Isidore-Jules Bonheur (1827-1901) initially worked as a painter. In 1849 he entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and from then onwards concentrated solely on sculpture, whereupon his true talent in the medium became apparent. Of great significance to the careers of both Isidore and Rosa, their younger sister, Juliette (1830-1891), married the master caster Hippolyte Peyrol whose bronze foundry in Paris is rightly considered one of the finest of the period. These close ties resulted in the production of exceptionally cast and finely chased bronzes, often identified, as here, by Peyrol's miniscule cachet.

Bonheur is most celebrated today for his horse and jockey groups and the present example is a rarely seen model. It compares closely to Retour au Pesage (exhibited at the Salon in 1886 under the title 'Un Jockey' no. 3535) and an unidentified model of a horse and jockey before the race (for examples of each see Christie's, New York, 8 Dec 2005, lot 51 and Christies, New York, 23 April 2004, lot 150 respectively). This model could be Jument anglaise montée par un Jockey (Salon 1863 no. 2247), 'Un Jockey' (Salon 1864 no. 2511) or 'Un Jockey' (Salon 1879 no. 4817).