The French spaniel dog "FabioNo. 1" is one of the first three models of dogs exhibited by PJ Mêne at the Salon of 1843 .
This portrait is with the pointer dog (known as Briant) carrying a hare , one of those which met with the most success .
Signature of the sculptor "P.J.MÊNE", hollow , on the naturalist terrace , richly chiseled .
Old edition bronze , period second part of the 19th century .
Very good state of conservation and patina .
Height : 17 cm
Length : 31 cm
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 , was a French sculptor , born March 25 , 1810 in Paris , city where he died May 20 , 1879 .
He is considered one of the main representatives of animal sculpture in the 19th century .
Pierre-Jules Mêne produced many animal sculptures , particularly in vogue during 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 works 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 is revealed , with Barye , as the one whose success has been the most constant , and this over the longest period .
Pierre-Jules Mêne appears as one of the best wax practitioners of his time .