Bronze animal sculptures
An exhibit of 19th and 20th century Western European animal sculptures has opened at the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko Museum of Arts. The items on display are from the private collection of Syrian businessman Hares Youssef. The title of the exhibit, “Tsinuimo BronZoo,” is a play on two Ukrainian words, bronze and zoo.
Animal figures came into fashion in the 19th century, after several artists from the Animaliers school displayed animal sculptures at a French exhibit in 1831. The collection at the Khanenko Museum features 64 works of the most prominent Western European masters of bronze animal sculptures.
“The collector has amassed nearly 140 items,” Lidia Shulzhenko, the PR manager of the Hares Group Company, explained to The Day . Over the last 10 years the collection has been expanded by new works brought from different countries of the world. Youssef purchased some items abroad, others were given to him by friends, but every work is unique and original in its own way. Although each work may be admired separately, together they form a whole; they are chosen with impeccable taste and united by a single theme.
These works give an idea of the development of animal sculpture in European art. Most of the exhibited works are by French masters: Antoine- Louis Barye (1796-1875), the founder of the Animaliers school, and his pupil Clovis Edmond Masson (1838-1913.) They recreated a romantic vision of the animal world, making bronze molds of popular models. The exhibit includes individual studies and sculptural groups, some of which were commissioned by Barye’s patron, the Duke of Orleans.
The detailed realistic style is represented by the works of Pierre-Jules Mene (1810-71.) Later sculptors, A. Jaquemar, J. Mouanier, P. E. Delabriere, and Prosper Lecourtier, created in the “salon” manner. The animal sculptures of these artists were mainly oriented to the tastes of bourgeois audiences and were used for decorating elegant interiors.
The exhibit also showcases works from the tradition of Art Deco, a popular European design movement between the two World Wars. These are represented by the works of G. Bommer, A. Buchenberger, and other artists.
Aficionados of beauty will definitely cast an appreciative eye on a bronze Viennese miniature depicting comic colored animal figures. This kind of animal sculpture has pride of place in Mr. Youssef’s collection.
According to Maria Vyshnevetska, an associate of the museum, examples of famous animals occupy a special place in the collection. Among them are Napoleon’s favorite dog and a fighting dog that won dog fights for 12 straight years. His owners, proud of their pet’s victories, commissioned a sculpture from an outstanding master.
All the proceeds from the exhibit will be donated to the construction of a Children’s Medical Center for Bone Marrow Transplants.
