catalog text
JEAN-FRANCOISE-THEODORE GECHTER (FRENCH, 1796-1844) BRONZE MODEL OF A HORSE
Sand cast, signed in base "T Gechter", c. 1840's
Item # 502KHA14
This intricate and highly skilled sand cast model of a dray horse with it's foot caught up in the harness is a form Jean-Francoise Theodore Gechter used in a wide number of his horse models. Originally a portraitist, Gechter turned to animal sculpture in the 1830's and completed a wide range of generally sand cast subjects. He had studied under both Bosio and Gros, exhibited at Salon from 1827 to 1844, obtained a silver medal in 1839 and was made Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur in 1837. A master of disguising the necessary joints of sand cast sculpture, the models are always complicated and almost without exception exceedingly fine. The present example is an firsthand representation of his skill, the surface with a soft and velvety touch over the expertly tooled details and finishing. The horse looks frustrated and unsure of how to proceed, his foot tugging at the twisted harness that flows up through a hoop in the saddle. Animals in Bronze (Payne, p. 311) details this precise model, though with a farmer seated on his back, and a slightly different model (base variation) without the seated figure. Beneath the base is a tooled inscription, possibly a foundry signature. The level of detail in the cast is superior, making it an outstanding acquisition for collectors of animal sculpture that are moved by the technical elements of casting and the photographic realism of the model.
References and Literature:
- Animals in Bronze, Christopher Payne, f. H100 (p. 311), f. H103 (p. 312), biography p. 405
- Bronzes of the Nineteenth Century: Dictionary of Sculptors, Pierre Kjellberg, p. 355-6
- E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Vol V, Gründ, p. 1438
Measurements: 4 3/4" H x 6" L x 3 1/4" D
Condition Report:
Old crack in right hump of saddle, old break to tied knot above ears. Minor patina wear. Slightly loose neck seam.
