Sculptor - Pierre Jules Mene
Title - Setter Diane
Sand Cast Bronze Atelier Pierre Jules Mene Circa 1850 4 1/2" height by 7 1/4" length (11.4cm by 18.4cm)
Mene did some of his best sculptures of hunting dogs in the mid 19th century and this is a fine portrait of a female Setter dog named Diane. She is shown on the alert, frozen in motion as if she has just smelled a game bird. Her head is turned, her legs are stiff, she is stopped by the scent.
Unfortunately this model has been copied often over the past 150 years and many of these copies are a caricature of the original. The poor dog's tail has been changed, and these fakes show such a lack of detail that the dog looks like a short haired Pointer and not a long haired Setter.
One can easily see the difference between the copies and the original casts. Our bronze was cast by Mene himself in his own foundry, it shows his attention to detail and a good rich dark brown patina. Diane is a good example of a working field dog doing her job, finding game birds.
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