Sculptor - Pierre Jules Mene
Title - Fox and Vixen
Sand Cast Bronze Circa 1870 4" height by 7" length (10.1 cm by 17.2 cm)
Mene was best known for his larger bronzes of horses and hunting scenes but he also did some fine small models of wild and domestic animals. His small sculpture of a dog Fox and his Vixen is one of his better subjects.
A well balanced composition, the male Fox stands beside the reclining female Vixen. Both Foxes were done as single sculptures but they work better as a pair on one base.
This bronze is a good 19th century cast with a painted finish which was often done on the Austrian bronzes but this is not an Austrian bronze. The Foxes are a red brown and the base is a greenish gray color.
A well known model which is shown in almost every book on the Animalier bronzes.
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