Boules Player - Bronze Sculpture By Joseph-antoine Bernard - Circa 1894

Rare collector's sculpture in patinated bronze representing a bowls player. Our pointer is the work of the great sculptor Joseph-Antoine BERNARD. It is signed, dated 1894 and bears the stamp of the founder "E. GRUET / JEUNE / FONDEUR / 44 bis AVENUE DE CHATILLON PARIS" Height 44.5 cm. Related literature: -René Jullian, Joseph Bernard, Saint-Rémy-les-Chevreuses, Ed. Fondation de Coubertin, 1989, model listed under No. 22, p 272. Joseph-Antoine BERNARD (1866-1931) Coming from a family of stone cutters from Vienne (Isère), Joseph Bernard first trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Lyon before joining the workshop of Pierre-Jules Cuvelier at the Ecole nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1887. Little attracted to academic teaching, solitary and hard-working, he sought his own style, influenced by the work of Rodin. He presented his first work at the Salon of 1892, l'Espoir vaincu, which earned him his first success. In 1905, he received from his hometown a major commission for the development of his career: that of the Public Monument to the theologian and scholar opposed to Calvin, Michel Servet (1541-1553). It was in this context that he created the model for our work. This ambitious and long-term project, which occupied the artist from 1906 to 1911, is composed of a representation of the tortured man at the stake, and an allegorical group representing Youth and Reason. Reason overlooks a couple of seated young people: the young girl is very reserved, her hands crossed on one knee and the young man, his left hand resting on his shoulder, seems to be talking to her, looking into the distance. The artist, who throughout his career was sensitive to the figures of young girls (see his most famous work, the Young Girl with a Jug, model from 1910), is interested here in the birth of the feeling of love. If our model is directly derived from the seated group of the Monument to Michel Servet, it nevertheless presents a variant of great tenderness which exalts this feeling of love: the young girl crosses not only her hands, but also her feet in an attitude of great modesty, while the young man with a relaxed and nonchalant appearance turns his head towards his sweetheart and seems carried away in a laudatory speech. The modesty and grace of this group are also underlined by the extreme finesse of the casting and the softness of the patina. The sculptor, who like many artists, experienced considerable material difficulties, benefits, thanks to a hard-earned reputation, from the attention of the great talent scout and businessman, Adrien-Aurélien Hébrard. Also the founder of a renowned foundry since 1902, this shrewd and visionary man signed a publishing contract with the artist in 1908 for small-scale pieces. After discovering Rembrandt Bugatti and supporting Antoine Bourdelle, A. Hébrard devoted his first solo exhibition to Joseph Bernard in his Gallery at 8 rue Royale, between 4 and 23 May 1908: among the works exhibited was a copy of La Jeunesse charmed par l'Amour (No. 17). Although Joseph Bernard was known and recognised for his marble sculptures executed in direct carving, he also owed a large part of his artistic recognition to the publishing policy and the quality of Adrien Hébrard's bronzes.