Sculpture - Horse Jumping A Hurdle , Gaston d'Illiers (1876-1932) - Bronze

Bronze proof representing a horse jumping a hurdle , Gaston d'Illiers .
Bronze with brown patina .
Signature of the sculptor " G.D.Illiers " , hollow , on the naturalistic oval terrace .
Old edition font .
20th century period , Art-Deco .
Very good state of preservation and patina .

Gaston d'Illiers (1876-1932)

Gaston d'Illiers , June 26 , 1876 - November 13 , 1932 , was an animal sculptor specializing in horses .

Gaston d'Illiers devoted his entire life to his two passions , horses and sculpture .
Since his childhood , he was above all a horseman .
As a teenager , he discovered wax modeling and chose to make statuettes of horses : he had found his way .

He learned the trade under the Catalan sculptor Gustave Obiols , the Comte de Ruillé , an animal sculptor , and the animal painter George Busson .
He quickly met with success and his works were exhibited at the Salon des artistes français from 1899 to 1930 .
He exhibited in other specialized Salons of the time , at the Canine Society , at the Animal Artists and especially at the Concours Hippique , where for thirty years he presented more than one hundred and twenty works .

He organized private exhibitions in Orléans .
In 1925 , he exhibited in Paris at the Galerie Georges Petit with André Mahon , another artist from Orleans .
He was also the friend of his neighbor from Sologne , Maurice Bastide du Lude , sculptor and aquafortist , to whom he introduced Jeanne Champillou who became a faithful member of the Atelier du château du Lude .
Every winter , Gaston d'Illiers hunted with hounds in Sologne and in the forest of Orléans .
His works earned him great notoriety in equestrian and artistic circles .

The works of Gaston d'Illiers are appreciated by horse lovers for their precision and their fidelity to nature .