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 Horse Bronze  "Horse  in the Stable Playing with a Dog (The Good Companions)" Jument à l'écurie jouant avec un chien Pierre-Jules Mene (French, 1810-1879) Bronze 19 x 10 inc...

Antique Bronze Dog Portrait “La Levrette au Papillon” or “Whippet (Greyhound) with a Butterfly”   Arthur Waagen (Germany, France 1833-1898) Circa 1860’s 11 x 8 x 4  inches (2of 2. No...

"Galloping Horse and Rider" Alessio Issupoff (1889 Russia-1957 Rome) Oil on wood panel Signed lower right 5 1/2 x8 1/2 (13 1/2 x 16 1/2 frame) inches This is such a stunning little jewel, it's almost hard to believe. Alessio Issupoff dedicated his whole life to art and was shaped by his years at the Moscow School of Painting, and later absorbed a great deal from Impressionism and the work of the Italian Renaissance masters. But he kept his distinctive style and remained true to the idea that excited the generation of painters of the turn of the 20th century — “the embodiment of the great beauty of everything alive.” Alexei Vladimirovich Isupov, known by his Italianized name Alessio Issupoff, was born in Vyatka (now Kirov) on March 10, 1889. The son of an icon carver and gilder, he learned to paint from the artisan painters who worked with his father. Wanting to give expression to his own artistic creativity, the young Alexei did not take up his father's trade but left Vyatka for Moscow where he attended the School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. His mentor was the painter Apollinary Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, brother of Viktor, who introduced him to the Moscow artistic milieu and helped him find work. By studying and visiting museums, Issupoff formed his own aesthetic “taste” by modifying it on contemporary Russian and French Renaissance art...

Stationary racehorse. This exceptional bronze sculpture by Louis Alfred Joseph Cuvelier depicts a racehorse in mid-stride, captured in a moment of intense energy and motion. Cast by...

Jules Moigniez (1835-1894) bronze horse Very pretty bronze horse signed by J Moigniez from the XIX century. It has a very nice patina that it has ...

Fine Bronze model of a horse by PIERRE JULES MÊNE, (France 1810-1879) entitled "Cheval Libre" (The Free Horse) Sand cast during the Mêne-Cain (1874-1908) period, probaly circa 1880. ...

Turkish Horse by Antoine-Louis Barye (1796-1875) "Cheval turc, antérieur gauche levé, terrasse carrée" Bronze sculpture with a nuanced dark brown patina Signed " Barye " on the base...