Sculpture - Taurus By Louis Vidal (the Blind) Says Vidal - Navatel(1831-1892) - Bronze

Proof in bronze with brown patina , of a standing bull by Louis Vidal (1831-1892) .
Produced in 1867, this meticulously sculpted bronze highlights the power of an animal synonymous with vitality .
This sculpture is one of the artist's major works , created by Louis Vidal when he was blind .
Famous animal sculptor Louis Vidal , known as Blind Vidal , or Vidal-Navatel , was visually impaired from an early age , before becoming blind around 1853 , he then replaced sight with touch to model his sculptures .  
The sculpture rests on a naturalistic oval terrace and bears the sculptor's signature “Vidal (aveugle)” , in hollow .  
Early edition bronze , second half of the 19th century . 
Perfect state of preservation and patina . 

Sizes : 16 cm x 22.2 cm 

Louis Vidal (1831-1892)

Louis Vidal , also known as “Blind Vidal” or “Vidal-Navatel” , was a famous French animal sculptor .

Born in Nîmes on December 6 , 1831 , he grew up in a family of artists , his stepfather being the painter "Alexandre Colin" , who married his mother in a second marriage , and his half-brother Paul-Alfred Colin .

He began his training by studying anatomy , before going blind in 1853 , which prevented him from pursuing this path . 
He then turned to sculpture .
He studied with animal sculptors Antoine-Louis Barye and Pierre Louis Rouillard , and became an animal sculptor himself , replacing sight with touch . 
Louis Vidal is best known for his sculpture of a “Roaring Lion”, as well as a bronze “Bull” , donated by the State to the Nîmes Museum of Fine Arts in 1867 .
Louis Vidal worked in particular with Alfred Barye , son of his master Antoine-Louis Barye .

In 1888 , the artist became professor of modeling at the Braille School in Paris .
His 1865 portrait by photographer Étienne Carjat , acquired by the National Museums in 1986 , is now housed at the Orsay Museum in Paris .
Louis Vidal died on May 9, 1892 at the Quinze-Vingts hospital in Paris .