Jean Gaspar, Le Coq De Jemappes, Bronze, 20th Century

Important sculpture in patinated bronze depicting a rooster crowing, beak wide open and proudly standing on its legs. This is a scaled-down version of the copper rooster created by Jean Gaspar for the monument designed by architect Eugène Bodson and erected in 1911, to commemorate the Battle of Jemappes that pitted France against Austria in 1792. Comprising an obelisk in Ecaussines bluestone surmounted by the rooster, it was destroyed by German bombs in 1914 and rebuilt identically in 1922, but this time the rooster was created by sculptor Charles Samuel.

Signed "J. GASPAR" on the terrace.

Jean Gaspar (1861-1931) was a Belgian animal sculptor. After training at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, he joined the studio of sculptor Jef Lambeaux. He also set up his own studio in the family home in Arlon. In 1889, he took part in the Exposition Universelle, where he presented his "Abduction of the Sabines", which won him a bronze medal. His career thus launched, he subsequently took part in numerous exhibitions and decided to devote himself exclusively to animal sculpture. He drew his inspiration from his many visits to the Antwerp zoo, but made few sketches, preferring to work from memory, giving his sculptures a striking vivacity and expressiveness. Among his most famous works, apart from "Le Coq de Jemappes", are "L'Appel de la forêt", featuring a bellowing stag and exhibited in Arlon, "La Panthère" in the Brussels Botanical Gardens, and "Le Coq Gaulois", which adorns the French plot in Arlon cemetery. The Gaspar family home now houses a museum dedicated to the work of Jean and his brother Charles, a photographer, but several of his sculptures are also held in the collections of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels.

H: 62 cm
W: 34 cm
P: 45 cm