Jules Mêne (French, 1810-1879)

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ument Normande/IBRAHIM, CHEVAL ARABE 1868
Bronze, with rich brown patination
Signed 'P.J. Mêne,

Study of a Normandy mare; a model from Mêne's popular Jument normande et son poulain, exhibited in wax at the 1868 Salon (no. 3749), and in bronze the following year.

Excellent Condition

Dark brown patina, signed 'P. J. Mene'
Date: 1860

Height: 43 cm
Width: 49 cm
Depth: 18 cm

Sales Price $4,000

or best offer

Cheval Ibrahim
Hammer price

USD 3,064
Medium Bronze
Location Aix-en-Provence (FRANCE)
Size 40x48 cm - ( 15 3/4x18 7/8 in)
Auction house Aix Encheres Art S.A.R.L
Sales date 10/23/2010

Ibrahim, cheval arabe
Hammer price

USD 5,029
Medium Bronze, patine médaille
Location Paris (FRANCE)
Size 19x44x49 cm - ( 7 1/2x17 1/3x19 1/4 in)
Auction house Ferri & Associes SARL
Sales date 10/22/2010

Cheval La Bride Sur Le Cou
Hammer price

USD 8,827
Medium Bronze, patine brune nuancée
Location Versailles (FRANCE)
Size 36x37 cm - ( 14 1/6x14 5/8 in)
Auction house Eric Pillon Encheres PVE SARL
Sales date 5/16/2009

LOT 41
JUMENT ARABE ET SON POULAIN NO. 1 (AN ARAB MARE AND FOAL)

bronze, dark

Hammer Price 18,750 GBP

Sotheby's Sale: L10232  London Dates: Session 1: Tue, 23 Nov 10

LOT 57

FAUCONNIER ARABE À CHEVAL (ARAB FALCONER)

bronze, dark brown and gilt patina

78cm., 30¾in.  Hammer Price  8,750 GBP

Sotheby's Sale: L10232  London Dates: Session 1: Tue, 23 Nov 10

About this sculpture:

I will quote here gentlemen Richarme and Poletti (in Pierre-Jules Leads - Catalogue raisonné - Bronze Coverage - 2007) as they praise this piece: "The artist considered the [Norman mare and her foal] as one of its successes and one of its major groups. [...] But it is the edition of the mare only Norman is a true success. "

Damien Colcombet

References: C. Payne, Animals in Bronze, Woodbridge, 1986, pl. 11, p. 280. Kjellberg « les Bronzes du XIXeme Siècles » (avec poulain) *Horswell « Les Animaliers » p.148 *Forrest « Art Bronzes » (avec poulain)
 

Pierre-Jules Mene was born in Paris on March 25, 1810 , the son of a prosperous metal-turner. His father trained him in metal-working techniques and the boy quickly put them together with his own natural talent. After his marriage at age 22, Mene, like many of the other famous 19th century sculptors, including Barye, Dalou, and Rodin, began his career as an ornamiste , making ornamental models for porcelain manufacturers, creating clock decorations, and doing some small commercial bronzes. In 1837 Mene established the first of what would be a series of foundries to cast his sculptures. The following year, he made his debut at the Paris Salon with a piece called Dog and Fox . Two years later, he showed several pieces there, including Horse Attacked by a Wolf . From that point on, he regularly exhibited at the Salon, eventually winning four awards: a 2nd class medal in 1848, a first-class in 1852 and 1861, and a third class in 1855.

Mene was extremely popular in England as well as France , winning medals at the London Exhibitions of 1855 and 1861. One English review in 1851 praised him “for the perfection in modeling the figures of animals and for the truth and beauty of his representations”. In 1861, his reputation was secured by his induction into the Legion d'Honneur. Mene rapidly became the most successful and popular animalier of his time; art expert James Mackay suggests, “Mene is perhaps, after Barye, the most widely known of the Animaliers and the sculptor whose work, more than any others, set the standard for the Animalier school”. Scholar Jeremy Cooper points out, “Mene's message was refreshingly simple and direct when the rest of the arts were at a low ebb in terms of aesthetic sensitivity.” In addition, Mene's early training in metal-working made him conversant with all aspects of foundry work, enabling him to turn out large editions of his pieces at his own foundries while ensuring that the models and casts were kept in such excellent condition throughout as evident in the amount of fine detail and the skill with which finely chiselled lines may be seen in Mene's autograph bronzes.

Another reason for his popularity was his personality. Mene was extremely out-going and convivial. His home became a gathering place for painters, musicians, and fellow sculptors, making him well-known and liked throughout the artistic circles of Paris . Toward the end of his life, Mene taught his son-in-law, Auguste Cain, who was also an animalier , how to manage his foundries. Subsequently, Cain continued to cast Mene's work for twelve years after his death, turning out the sort of flawless pieces upon which his father-in-law and mentor had always insisted. In 1892, when Cain died, the last of Mene's foundries was closed and the remainder of his models sold to the Susse Freres foundry which continued to cast Mene's statues with the foundry seal impressed into them well into the twentieth century. Today, examples of Mene's work reside in venues around the world, including museums such as the Ashmolean, the Louvre, the Metropolitan, and the R.W. Norton Art Gallery.

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