catalog text
PIERRE LENORDEZ
French, 1815-1892
"Monarque"
Patinated sand-cast bronze | Signed in cast "P. Lenordez" | foundry inscription for Duplan et Salles | cast circa 1870
Item # 305BHE24A
An unusually fine example of Lenordez's work, he modeled Monarque with a surface ahead of its time through a marriage of exacting technical representation of the proud stallion and a modernistic mottled texturing of the body that is tangible. The viewer can almost feel the stylus in the artist's hand as it feverishly works the body to push and shape the wax, scuffing and scraping the skin of the horse in a chaotic fervor. This has been captured with utmost integrity by the renowned house of Duplan et Salles, the quality of the sand-casting simply above reproach with crisp replication of the artist's intent evident in every quarter.
Typical of Lenordez, the towel tossed on the ground records the important details on the subject, noting:
"Monarque!! né en 1852, par the Baron the Emperor ou Sting Poetess par Royal oak vainqueur de 21 prix, entre autres les prix du Jockey Club, le grand St. Léger en France, le Good Wood cup en Angleterre, et la grand médaille d'or au Concours Agricole de 1860."
The original sculpture of Monarque is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Normandie in Caen.
Born in Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, in the district of Manche in northwestern France, Pierre Lenordez eventually established himself in Caen where he would become a professor and teach at the Fine Arts Academy of Caen for a decade, accepting under his tutelage the Romantic sculptor of renown Arthur Jacques Leduc during his tenure there, while building a lasting reputation as an Animalier.
His speciality was horses, an animal he came to master to such a degree that he wrote a book on the topic published in 1886 titled "The Horse". He would also produce some figurative statues, including his 1887 exhibition of "Esclave et Sultane Fuyant du Sérail" and a few models of other animals, but it was for his equestrian models that he became famous and remains an important contributor to this day. He debuted at the Paris Salon in 1855, continuing to exhibit there regularly through 1877 where he showed a long series of winners of major horse races or sires of important blood lines, these usually fashioned with descriptive details on a blanket or towel situated on the base of the sculpture.
Much of his work was cast by the foundries Duplan et Salles and Boyer, with some being cast by the small (and exceedingly skilled) foundry of Graux-Marly.
Artist Listings & Bibliography:
- Dictionnaire des Sculpteurs de l'École Française, Vol. III, Lami, p. 315
- E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Vol. VIII, Gründ, 2006, p. 832-833
- Bronzes of the 19th Century: Dictionary of Sculptors, Kjellberg, 1994, p. 427-428
Measurements: 11 1/2" W x 10 1/2" H x 4 1/2" D
Condition Report:
Exquisite original condition. Minor rubbing to original patina. Carefully cleaned, sealed in wax and polished. A very fine presentation.