Alfred Dubucand

Alfred Dubucand (French, 1828-1924): A bronze model of an Egyptian boy with his donkey the barefoot figure standing beside his mule, on a naturally cast base, raised on a moulded oval socle, signed DUBUCAND, brown patination, Footnote: Dubucand studied under the famous animalier sculptor Barye and produced many highly realistic models of animals throughout his career. He made his debut at the Salon of 1867 with a wax model of a dead pheasant and exhibited regularly until 1883, often showing wax models before re-submitting the bronze casts in subsequent years. His attention to detail and skillful modelling of animals reflected Barye's influence, but he is perhaps most renowned for his work depicting the people and animals of North Africa and the Middle East. The present bronze illustrates the sculptor's fascination with this area and its nomadic inhabitants.

LOT 55 ALFRED DUBUCAND FRENCH, 1828-1894 CAVALIER ET FEMME ARABE Á LA FONTAINE 15,000—20,000 USD measurements height 23 1/4 in. alternate measurements 59 cm signed DUBUCAND bronze, light brown patina LITERATURE AND REFERENCES Pierre Kjellberg, Bronze of the 19th Century, ed. Schiffer Publishing LTD, USA, 1994, p.300, (for the illustration of an identical model); S. Lami, Dictionnaire des sculpteurs de l'école française au dix-neuvième siècle, Paris, 1914, vol.2, p. 232 CATALOGUE NOTE The present model was first exhibited in wax at the Paris Salon of 1882 under no4328. A bronze case was subsequently exhibited at the salon of 1883 under no3596.

Alfred Dubucand (French, 1828-1894) Hunting in the Sahara signed 'DUBUCAND' (on the base) bronze with brown patina and gilt height: 17½ in. (44.5 cm.) Literature M. Forrest, Art Bronzes, Pennsylvania, 1988, p. 210, no. 3.136(another cast illustrated). Lot Notes A student of Justin-Marie Lequien and Antoine Louis Barye,Alfred Dubucand exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon from 1867until 1883. A well established and prolific animalier sculptor, heoften depicted the local animals of North Africa. In 1879 he won athird place medal for a small bronze group entitled Un chasseurpersan au guépard.

Alfred Dubucand (French, 1828-1894)
The Hunter
Add. Notes: signed 'Dubucand' (on the base) bronze with dark brown patina height: 21 in. (53.3 cm.)
Notes: Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat was born in Bayonne in 1833 and lived for many years in Madrid where his father owned a bookshop. He began his artistic education under Charles Sarvy, his maternal uncle, by whom he was taught an appreciation of the Spanish masters Velasquez, Murillo and Zurbaran. The young artist attended classes at the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid for a short time before moving to Paris to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. At the Ecole, Bonnat enrolled in the atelier of Leon Coignet where he first made the acquaintance of Jules Lefebvre and Tony Robert-Fleury, two Academic artists who were frequent contributors to the Salon and the three would remain lifelong friends. Bonnat made his Salon debut in 1857 and that same year, he took second place in the Prix de Rome, the Ecole's most prestigious annual competition. He later rose to prominence as the most celebrated portrait painters of the Third Republic. Bonnat won a number of state-sponsored commissions, the most important of which was the cycle of paintings that now adorn the interior of the Pantheon in Paris. Like William Bouguereau, who was Bonnat's contemporary and reputed rival, Bonnat was ultimately elected to the Academie and became a professor at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Among his students were Raoul Dufy, Henri Matisse and Henri deToulouse-Lautrec (who the older artist reputedly did not care for). In 1905, Bonnat became Directeur of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Throughout the 1870s and 1880s, young Italian girls in regional costumes pervade the work of many Academic artists, and the same was true of Bonnat. certainly belongs to this series of paintings, however, its monumental scale and thinly veiled symbolism of lost innocence sets it apart from mere representations of quaint country dress. The young girl stands alone in the center of the composition, surrounded by the pottery shards of . She does not seem startled or surprised, but deep in contemplation. The bright colors of her costume contrast strongly to the muted tones of the background, setting her off in her isolation even more. The image is forceful and poignant, and a testament to both the artist's technical skill and narrative abilities.

Alfred Dubucand (French, 1828-1894) Hunting in the Sahara inscribed 'DUBUCAND' (on the base) bronze with brown patina and gilt height: 26½ in. (67.3 cm.) Literature M. Forrest, Art Bronzes, Pennsylvania, 1988, p. 210, no. 3.136 (another cast illustrated). Lot Notes A student of Justin-Marie Lequien and Antoine Louis Barye, Alfred Dubucand exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon from 1867 until 1883. Dubucand is a well established and prolific animalier sculptor and he often depicted the local animals of North Africa. In 1879 he won a third place medal for a small bronze group entitled Un chasseur persan au guépard. A smaller (17½ in.) version of the present lot was sold at Christie's, New York, on 19 April 2006, lot 32.