Domien Ingels (1881–1946) Horse: Quick Star Original Studio Plaster Cast

Domien Ingels (1881–1946)   Quick Star – Champion   Original studio plaster with bronze-coloured patina Belgium, c. 1930s Inscribed QUICK STAR – CHAMPION Signed Dom. Ingels   Dimensions: H48 x W62 x D19 cm.   An Important Original Studio Plaster   This original studio plaster of Quick Star – Champion represents a significant example of Domien Ingels' equestrian sculpture and offers a particularly intimate connection to the artist's creative process.   Of particular art-historical importance is the existence of a bronze version of the same composition. As an original studio plaster, the present work provides valuable evidence of the sculptor's working methods and his original artistic conception.   Unlike a bronze cast, which undergoes a separate foundry process, a studio plaster may preserve nuances of modelling, surface texture and sculptural detail that reflect the artist's creative decisions particularly closely.   The relationship between this original plaster and the known bronze version makes the work especially interesting within the context of Belgian animalier sculpture of the early twentieth century.   Far from being merely a reproduction in a less expensive material, an original studio plaster can constitute an independent and historically significant work of art, sometimes occupying a unique position in the development of a sculptural composition.   Quick Star – Champion therefore combines the aesthetic qualities of a finely observed equestrian sculpture with the additional historical importance of an original studio work by Domien Ingels.     Dominicus (Domien) Arthur Ingels (Ghent, 23 July 1881 – Bachte-Maria-Leerne, 16 November 1946) was a Belgian sculptor and painter. Domien Ingels was the son of a butcher. He trained as an artist under Domien Van den Bossche and Hippolyte Le Roy and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent. From 1900 to 1941, he taught drawing and sculpture at the same academy. He shared a studio with his friend Constant Permeke in the Great Beguinage of Saint Elizabeth (Groot Begijnhof Sint-Elisabeth) in Ghent. He specialized in animal sculptures.