Sculptor of animals who was born and died in Paris. In 1837, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts, where he was a pupil of Pierre-Jules Cortot. He first exhibited at the Salon of 1837, and in 1842 won a third-class medal. From 1840 to 1881, he was a professor of sculpture at the École des Arts décoratifs. He ran a large and successful studio producing mostly large-scale works in cast iron, often for architectural projects. In 1864, he was commissioned by Sultan Abdulaziz to make sculptures for various locations in Istanbul. In 1866, he was made a chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur. In Paris, his work can be found in the Louvre’s Cour Lefuel (1857–58; four groups of fighting animals at the foot of the ramp to the former stables and a tympanum relief over the entrance); on the Opéra Garnier (1869; eagles on the west façade) and on the forecourt of the Musée d’Orsay (1878; Horse with a Harrow); in Toulouse, in the Grand Rond (a dog and a wolf, each protecting their young); and in England, in Lister Park, Bradford, a Stag, and on the piers of the Queen’s Gate entrance to Kensington Gardens, two groups of a Doe and Fawn.
Sources: Nella Buscot; Oxford Art Online – Benezit Dictionary of Artists; Wikipedia.
Terry Cavanagh November 2022