Rare French Antique Bronze Sculpture “Mare and Foal” by Isidore Bonheur

Details

Description

ISIDORE JULES BONHEUR
French, 1827-1901

"Mare and her Foal"

Sand-cast nuanced medium-brown patinated bronze
Signed in cast "I. BONHEUR" and … Read more ISIDORE JULES BONHEUR
French, 1827-1901

"Mare and her Foal"

Sand-cast nuanced medium-brown patinated bronze
Signed in cast "I. BONHEUR" and cold-stamped PEYROL verso
Cast circa 1870

7 1/2" H x 12 1/2" W x 5 1/16" D

A rather rare example of Isidore Bonheur's "Mare and Foal", the image perfectly captures the powerful mare in a mode of loving and nurturing her child. The foal reaches under her to suckle while mother reassures her young. It is bucolic and peaceful, the subtle movements of the foal against the mother almost matching that of the mare as she takes a partial step forward.

Edited by the Hippolyte Peyrol foundry with the tiny cold-stamped foundry marking on the back edge of the rim, the cast showcases not only Bonheur's ability to capture the essence of domestic animals with exacting precision and realism, but also the extraordinary skills of the foundry to turn the wax and clay initial models into hard metal. The texture and crispness of the cast is superior. The surface is then finished in a medium-dark nuanced patina with reddish and lighter brown undertones against subtle coppery hues.

For the same model of identical dimensions also executed by Peyrol, see Sotheby's, London December 15 2021, lot 74, which achieved 10,710 GBP (approximately $ 14,100 USD at time of sale). The model seems to have some growing appeal, as thirteen years prior an identical example was offered at Sotheby's, Sydney, May 28 2008, lot 314, where it achieved 8700 AUD (approximately $ 8,300 USD at the time of sale). On the basis of the photographs, the surface texture and nuanced patina of this cast appears to be at least slightly superior to the model that sold in London.

Condition:
A very well-preserved cast with an original patina. Rubbing wear to edges of the base. Mild relieving to raised elements and handled areas. Carefully cleaned and sealed in conservator's wax. Ready to place.

Biography:
Isidore Jules Bonheur was born in Bordeaux on May 15, 1827, into a family distinguished by its artistic output. He was the third child of Raymond Bonheur, a painter and drawing instructor, and Christine Dorothée Sophie Marquis, a musician. Raised in an environment that encouraged artistic expression, Isidore trained initially under his father and alongside his elder sister, Rosa Bonheur, whose influence would remain a defining element in his career.

Bonheur's earliest formal recognition came with his dual submission to the Paris Salon in 1848: a plaster sculpture and a painting, both depicting Cavalier Africain Attaqué par un Lion. His enrollment at the École des Beaux-Arts followed in 1849, though his training remained largely informal and family-based. While he began his career pursuing both painting and sculpture, by the early 1850s Bonheur had committed himself exclusively to sculpture, focusing on naturalistic representations of animals in the tradition of the Animalier school.

His primary subjects included livestock, equine groups, felines, and hunting scenes. Many of his works display a compositional sensitivity and anatomical accuracy that distinguish him from earlier Romantics, eschewing theatricality in favor of calm, studied realism. Several models were conceived as companion pieces to Rosa Bonheur’s sculptures, notably his Merino Ram, designed to pair with her Ewe, and other cattle studies executed in complementary scale and style.

A key aspect of Bonheur’s success lay in his close association with the founder Hippolyte Peyrol, his brother-in-law through his sister Juliette. Peyrol’s foundry produced the majority of Isidore and Rosa’s bronzes, and the refinement of the casts—particularly in surface finishing and patina work—reflects a collaborative dynamic uncommon among commercial founder-artist relationships. Earlier casts may lack a foundry mark, but later editions often bear the discreet Peyrol cachet.

Bonheur exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon from 1848 through 1899, receiving a medal in 1889, the same year he was awarded the Médaille d’Or at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. He was also recognized abroad, earning a silver medal at the Exposition de Madrid in 1892 and a gold medal at the Exposition Internationale d’Anvers in 1894. In 1895, he was appointed Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur, one of the highest distinctions in French civil society.

He exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1875 and 1876, a strategic move that aligned his output with the preferences of the British market. During this period, he created numerous hunting compositions and equestrian works tailored to English tastes, contributing to his international reputation.

Among his most notable public commissions is the pair of crouching stone lions installed at the Palais de Justice in Paris, a monumental work that remains part of the city’s architectural fabric. He also created the memorial monument to Rosa Bonheur in Fontainebleau, an enduring testament to their artistic bond.

Isidore Jules Bonheur died in Paris in 1901. Though often overshadowed by his sister’s fame, his contribution to 19th-century French sculpture is significant. His work represents a measured, anatomically faithful approach to animal modeling that stood apart from the more emotive or allegorical tendencies of his predecessors. Today, Bonheur’s bronzes are regarded as essential to the Animalier canon and are distinguished by their compositional balance, technical finish, and quiet dignity.

ref. 503HNR05A See less