Group Of Two Greyhounds Playing Boule By Pierre - Jules Mêne (1810-1879) - Bronze XIXth Century

Bronze group representing two greyhounds playing ball by Pierre-Jules Mêne .
The group consists of the doggy "Jiji" and the doggy "Giselle" .
Bronze with brown patina .
Signature of the sculptor " P.J.MÊNE " in hollow , on the naturalistic oval terrace , representing a carpet .
Old cast iron .
19th century period .
Very good state .

There are multiple variants in the chiseled design of the carpet and that of the ball , attesting to the freedom that the artist granted to the chisels in finishing the proofs .
The Group of two greyhounds playing ball is the counterpart of the Greyhound and King Charles Group , which will be published shortly after.

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 .