Sculpture - Group In Bronze, Greyhound And King - Charles By Pierre - Jules Mêne (1810-1879) XIXth Century

Bronze group, representing two dogs , a greyhound and a King Charles , by Pierre - Jules Mêne .
Group with brown patina .
Signature of the sculptor " P.J.MÊNE " on the naturalist oval terrace , representing a carpet .
Old cast iron . 
Period XIX th century . 
Very good state .

This group brings together on the same terrace , the Greyhound with a fan named "PLOCK" and the Dog King Charles , published separately and which constitutes the counterpart of the Group of two greyhounds playing bowls .
"Plock" is with "Diego", one of the two rare portraits of male greyhounds made by Mêne who did little to represent this animal .
The King Charles , a small pleasure animal with long , dark hair from the group of toy spaniels , is a type of dog particularly fond of King Charles II of England , to whom it owes its name .
In the middle of the 19th century , it was again highly sought after in English society and in France . Pierre-Jules Mêne is part of this vogue and thus offers this model .
Its realization precedes that of the "PLOCK" Greyhound, the second constituent element of the " Lévrier et King-Charles " Group .

The Greyhound and King Charles Spaniel group is found less often than the Greyhound group, in a much lower proportion, from about one to five .

In Mêne 's work, the dog is the animal loved and pampered, studied and represented more than all the others .
If hunting is the axis of his work , the dog is the constitutive element par excellence .
In animal sculptures , Mène is the artist who left us the most models of canines , all perfectly treated in a realistic way , and represented with an artistic truth and an anatomical rigor that will not weaken over the years .

Pierre - Jules Mêne (1810 - 1879)

Pierre-Jules Mêne , is a French sculptor , born March 25 , 1810 in Paris , city where he died on May 20 1879 .

He is considered to be one of the main representatives of animal sculpture in the 19th century .
Pierre-Jules Mêne produced many animal sculptures , particularly in vogue under the Second Empire, like Antoine-Louis Barye , Auguste Caïn , Pierre Louis Rouillard and , later , François Pompon .

Mêne specialized in small bronzes, and did not produce work for public statuary .
His animal subjects have enjoyed great popular success .
Exclusive publisher of his works , the perfection of his productions is widely recognized .
He reveals himself , with Barye , as the one whose success has been the most constant , and this over the longest period .

Mêne appears to be one of the best wax practitioners of his time.