Sculpture - Spaniel Dog "sultan" , Pierre - Jules Mêne (1810-1879) - Bronze

Bronze print depicting a hunting dog , spaniel breed , named "Sultan" by Pierre - Jules Mêne (1810-1879) .
The spaniel dog "Sultan", with the left front raised , is located behind the "Group of Dogs in the Coppice" , while the Pointer dog "Tom" constituting the same group , is placed in front .
Sculpture with nuanced brown patina , signed "PJ 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 : 12 cm  Length : 23 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 , Mêne 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 .