Sculpture - Horse "beaux - Arts 1879" , Prosper Lecourtier (1851-1924) - Bronze

Bronze sculpture , with a nuanced brown patina , representing a horse resting on a gilt bronze counter-base marked "Beaux-arts 1879" (date of presentation at the Salon) on the front, and "Souvenir 1905" on the side .
Prosper Lecourtier exhibited at the Salon from 1875 to 1924 .
Bronze signed "P.LECOURTIER." , hollow , on the terrace in naturalistic bronze , richly chiseled .
Ancient bronze , period second part of the 19th century .
Very good state of preservation and patina .

Prosper Lecourtier (1851-1924)

Prosper Lecourtier is a French animal sculptor .

He was a pupil of Emmanuel Frémiet and exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1875 until his death in 1924 .
Emmanuel Frémiet (1824-1910) , seems to have bequeathed to his pupil his passion for the animal world .
The latter excelled in the production of animals in a naturalistic style and would devote most of his career to animal sculpture and equestrian statues , such as the famous statue of " Jeanne d'Arc " erected in the Place des Pyramides in Paris .
In 1882 , Frémiet succeeded Antoine-Louis Barye as professor of animal drawing at the Museum of Natural History .
Prosper Lecourtier will devote himself to his animal sculptures .

We find in his sculptures of hunting scenes the influence of his master , however Lecourtier stands out from his model by the integration of movement as shown in his sculptures of hunting dogs or deer and deer .
Lecourtier , through his apprenticeship in Frémiet's studio but also through his love of animals and his technical virtuosity , has a real sense of naturalism in the anatomical modeling and the expressions of the animals represented .
His talent was already recognized during his lifetime since he won several medals at the Salon and at the Universal Exhibitions .

He is notably the author of a cast iron statue , "Le Cerf" , erected in the Promenades de Wassy park in Haute-Marne .
He is also the author of a life-size cow , commissioned by Alcide Bister , industrialist , who gave it in 1903 to his native town of Villotte-devant-Louppy to adorn a fountain called "Fontaine de la Vache" , classified as a historical monument .