Auguste Cain Bronze Sculpture Lioness And Cubs Susse Frères Paris 19th

Bronze sculpture with brown-green patina, representing a lioness carrying a wild boar with her cubs, signed A.Cain*, Susse brothers Editeurs in Paris**, vintage 19th century. This sculpture is in very good condition. It is signed (see photos). Note: slight wear and tear, see photos. *Auguste Cain (1822-1894): French animal sculptor. He is the father of the painter and writer Georges Cain, and of the man of letters and painter Henri Cain. After working in the family butcher's shop, Auguste Cain entered the workshop of Alexandre Guionnet then became a student of François Rude. Like Antoine-Louis Barye a few years earlier, he studied animal anatomy by drawing at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. In the 1840s he offered goldsmith models for the Fannière Brothers, Rudolfi and Maison Christophe. Auguste Cain joined forces with the sculptor Pierre-Jules Mène, whose daughter he married in 1852. He began exhibiting at the Salon in 1846 with a wax group "Warblers defending their nest against a dormouse", which has now disappeared, but which was later cast in bronze and presented at the salon of 1855. During the 1840s and 1850s, in addition to sculpting small animal figures, Cain also made decorative objects with animal motifs, such as matchboxes, goblets or candlesticks . Auguste Cain cast his own works and those of his father-in-law. His subjects often represent animals in their natural context, both for his statuettes and for larger sculptures. From the 1860s, recognized as an animal sculptor, Auguste Cain began to receive official commissions. Among them, monumental sculptures still in place in the great Parisian gardens. Auguste Cain's best-known works represent large carnivores with their prey, sometimes during a fight, but he also modeled familiar animals, bovids, or large game by characterizing them. His works are realistic with great attention to detail. After his death the foundry was closed and the molds sold to Ferdinand Barbedienne who continued to make prints in the 20th century. (artist referenced in Bénézit). Very highly rated artist on ArtPrice: similar sculptures have achieved very good sales results in major auction houses such as Drouot, Sotheby's, Christie's. **The Susse brothers company: Created in 1758 in Paris, originally a stationery business, it gained its reputation in the art foundry business. The two Susse brothers, Nicolas and Victor, began by marketing small bronzes in their Passage des Panoramas stationery store. We find traces of their new activity as art founders in 1839, they published a small catalog of their production. It was their first major contract with a renowned sculptor, James Pradier, who launched their business in 1841. In 1847, they used the Sauvage reduction process which allowed the creation of small furnishing bronzes reproducing famous works. Under the Second Empire, the house prospered thanks to numerous artists completing its catalog. Nicolas and Victor having died, it is Albert Susse who continues the activity, relying on two sales stores in Paris. A third opened in the 1900s at 13 boulevard de la Madeleine. It is today the oldest art foundry in France still in activity and has received the Living Heritage label. PLEASE NOTE: FOR DELIVERY QUOTE, CONTACT US WITH CITY AND COUNTRY OF DESTINATION. BE CAREFUL: PLEASE CONTACT US FOR THE DELIVERY PRICE. Height: 44 cm Length: with tail 72 cm Base: 61.5 cm x 20 cm Reference: D11130043S All photos are on: www.antiques-delaval.com