M. Prost (1894-1967) Large Art Deco Animal Bronze 1930

Rare and elegant solid bronze sculpture from the Art Deco period circa 1930 signed M. PROST (Maurice Prost 1864-1967) and Susse frères Editeurs Paris. Model *listed here in its largest version featuring a black panther walking on an inclined base in black marble from Belgium. Beautiful animal subject with an exquisite Cubist motif deploying the very essence of the Art Deco spirit with elegant minimalism and refined mechanized proportions. Good condition, beautiful patina, note some usual scratches at the base. Dimensions: 64 cm long X 32 cm high X 12 cm wide. (Estimated value between 14,000 and 18,000 euros in affinity with the estimates and sales results retained at Drouot in Paris) *References: model reproduced on page 75 of the book by Pierre Cadet "Susse Frères 150 years of sculpture 1837-1987" at Editions Susse Frères 1992. Then model referenced and reproduced on page 15 of the book "Maurice Prost 189 4-1967 animal sculptor” published by Concorde Art International Paris 1999 - as well as Maurice Prost, sculptor and animal painter (1894-1967), exhibition Musée Municipal Robert Dubois-Corneau, Brunoy April 10 and September 30, 2007 exhibition catalog pages 25 and 46. Maurice Prost (1894-1967) is a French sculptor. Gifted for drawing, he took lessons from the sculptor Léopold Morice. But it was Charles Valton who revealed his vocation as an animal artist. When fate had just struck him (he had his arm amputated in the first months of the 1914 war), he abandoned his job as a jeweler and opted for his passion, animal sculpture. After spending some time in Montpellier, he returned to Paris in 1918. He then went daily to the Jardin des Plantes to draw and model animals. There he meets the other animal keepers with whom he becomes a sincere friend. Prost exhibited for the first time in 1921 at the Salon des Artistes Français. He also regularly presents works at the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Artistes Indépendants. From 1922, Prost began to practice direct carving with the help of his wife. He became a full professor of drawing at the Paris Chamber of Commerce, where he taught at the age of 22. He was awarded a Medal of Honor at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1922. In 1927, the proximity of a glass workshop gave him the idea of using a compressed air machine to activate a pneumatic hammer, which he adapted and developed, with the help of the Apparatus Services of the Secretary of State for Veterans Affairs. From now on, he can practice direct pruning on his own. Maurice Prost exhibited permanently at the Galerie Susse, Bd de la Madeleine in Paris until after the war. His works will be among the best-selling in this gallery. He then exhibited in 1928 at the first Salon des Artistes Mutilés et Blessés de Guerre on the Champs-Elysées, an event where the inauguration brought together the entire French political class, the entire staff and the international press. In 1930, Prost participated in the Animal Artists exhibition, Edgar Brandt Gallery, Boulevard Malesherbes, then presented his Black Panther at the 1931 Colonial Exhibition, in bronze and life-size. On the occasion of the International Exhibition of Arts and Techniques of 1937, Prost produced two Pegasus more than 4 meters high, intended for the Alma footbridge. For this, he moved his studio to rue de la Tombe Issoire in the 14th arrondissement. His neighbor is the ceramist Georges Jouve. After the Second World War, he produced numerous monumental sculptures for cities and institutions. Knight of the Legion of Honor in a military capacity in 1933, he was promoted in 1957 to Officer of the Legion of Honor for the Arts. He won the Gold Medal at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1963 and the Medal of Honor at the Salon d'Automne in 1966, one before his death.