Christophe Fratin (1801-1864) - Sculpture, Combat d'ours - 5 cm - Bronze

Christophe FRATIN (1801–1864) "The Bear Fight"
Bronze with a brown-golden patina
Dimensions 4 x 5 x 8 cm

Christophe FRATIN was born on January 1, 1801 in Metz. The craft of his, taxidermy, undoubtedly had a great influence on the artist, with both sides striving, beyond anatomical reproduction, to give a "feeling," a "soul" to the work created. In the 1830s–1840s, his success was such that he participated in the realization for the Duke of Orléans, eldest son of Louis Philippe, and in collaboration with other artists such as Barye, Pradier, and Feuchère, in an important princely table centerpiece. He also created for the Duke of Luynes the lions that adorn a pediment of the Dampierre château. His career was international, as he worked in England and some of his works can be found in Russia, notably in the Tsar’s former park in Saint Petersburg. One of his major works was the hunting frieze at the Louvre, created under Napoleon III. Along with Mène and Barye, Fratin undoubtedly forms part of the trio of the best sculptors of the 19th century, but with this particularity of being "fantastic," "comic," or "original" which gives him a place apart and preeminent among animalier sculptors of that era.