The Centaur Bronze Sculpture By André Abbal

Superb bronze sculpture by André Abbal representing a centaur. Stamp of the Valsuani Founder, numbered  3/8 and signed on the terrace. As a teenager in the 1880s, Abbal read Maurice de Guerin's poem "Le Centaure", it was a revelation. The figure of the centaur fascinated him and he worked on this subject for a long time. In 1939 he received a commission from the state for a monumental stone work that was in Albi for a long time and recently joined the collection of the Château-musée du Cayla. Our bronze was made around 1940 after this work. The silhouette is massive; he is seated on his rump while his forelimbs are extended, supporting his humanoid bust, erect vertically; his two arms are rounded above his inclined head, in a meditative posture. The centaur represented is Chriron. He is the wise centaur, lover of music, knowledgeable about medicine, hunting and prophecies, the master of Achilles and Hercules.