CAST FROM THE MODEL BY PIERRE-JULES MÊNE (1810-1879), LATE 19TH CENTURY

Pierre-Jules Mêne was one of the most celebrated sculptors of the Second Empire, producing animalier models and hunting groups which were shown at the Salons of the era to great acclaim. The present bronze is a combination of two groups Mêne first showed in the third quarter of the 19th century: Valet de chasse (Louis XV) et sa harde of a which wax model was shown at the Salon of 1869 and acquired by Napoléon III for the Palais des Tuileries, and Veneur Louis XV à cheval, a modification of the former group which was shown at the Salon of 1872. The present lot bears the strongest resemblance to Valet de chasse (Louis XV) through the hunter’s position on his horse and the naturalistic base set with five hounds. The link to Veneur Louis XV à cheval is here primarily established through the slight modification in the horse, represented with a longer, knotted tail as opposed to a shorter cropped one, more commonly associated with Valet de chasse (Louis XV).

Poletti and Richarme note that Mêne produced slight modifications to and combinations of these groups, likely for private commissions (M. Poletti and A Richarme, Pierre-Jules Mêne, Catalogue raisonné, Paris, 2007, F1-2, pp. 26-29). It is, therefore, possible to speculate that the present group is an example of such an order, perhaps for a prestigious patron of the late 19th century, as its lack of a foundry mark could indicate a cast created during the sculptor’s lifetime. A group which combines elements of the two models is illustrated in P. Kjellberg, Les Bronzes du XIXe siècle Dictionnaire des sculpteurs, Paris, 1987, p. 470.