Adrien Gaudez (1845-1902) Bronze Hunting Scene

Large bronze with brown patina depicting a Court Hunting scene signed on the terrace A.GAUDEZ (Adrien Etienne Gaudez 1845-1902) Elegant hunting composition featuring a hunting valet sounding the horn accompanied by his two dogs. Good condition. Dimensions: 67 cm high x 40 cm wide x 36 cm deep. Born in Lyon, the French sculptor Adrien Etienne Gaudez entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1862. There he took classes with the sculptor François Jouffroy. Little is known about his life. He exhibited for the first time at the Salon in 1864. During the war of 1870, he was a prisoner of war in Magdeburg. Later, he executed a sculpture in memory of the French soldiers who died in captivity, which was erected in the city cemetery. Gaudez regularly presents his works at the Salon and in various exhibitions. The numerous bronze proofs of his works are sold to individuals in France and abroad, notably in the United States, ensuring regular income for the sculptor. In 1883, the artist organized a major public sale of his works. Among other awards, he received a gold medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1889. He died in 1902 in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Adrien Etienne Gaudez mainly created works in bronze. He is best known for his monumental sculptures created for public spaces: Monument to Parmentier (1888, Neuilly-sur-Seine), Monument to Jean-Rodolphe Perronet (1897, Neuilly-sur-Seine), Monument to the dead of 1870 by Remiremont (1892)…, but also produced decorative statuettes very popular in bourgeois interiors. A prolific artist, he explores different subjects, from the genre scene to military and patriotic sculpture, including literary and mythological figures (Actéon, circa 1898, Roger-Quilliot Art Museum in Clermont-Ferrand). Tinted with Classicism at the start of his career, his works are marked by the Art Nouveau style at the turn of the century. He also distinguished himself in an orientalist vein by representing oriental women. The patinas of his bronzes show great diversity and reflect a reflection on the polychromy of sculptures, a subject which fascinated artists of the second half of the 19th century. Relatively rare in French museums, Adrien Etienne Gaudez is however represented. among the collections of the Petit Palais in Paris by a full-length plaster model of Lully as a child (1885). The Musée d'Orsay in Paris keeps a marble statue entitled Winged Woman Among the Reeds. Very present on the art market through numerous bronze editions, Gaudez's works are rather appreciated there. In May 2001, at Christie's in New York, a bust of a Turkish princess in silver-patinated bronze sold for €167,774, a record for the artist.