Ref.10308
Mathurin MOREAU (1822 – 1912) (after), The Blacksmith, Cast iron sculpture after a model for the Val d'Osne Art Foundries

This Neo-classical style garden antique sculpture was realized in the late 19th century. This cast iron has a black patina for the base, anvil and hammer, meanwhile the character is painted in white. Its position is typical of classical statuary, he stands on his right leg and the left leg, free of body weight, is more relaxed. This cast iron sculpture was made after a drawing by the famous Mathurin Moreau (1822 – 1912) for the Val d'Osne foundries. Bibliography : Société anonyme des Fonderies d'art du Val d'Osne, Album n°2 – Fontes d'Art, 1900, Pl. 599, Ill. 285 « Le Forgeron » par Mathurin Moreau – See detail.

Ref.13163
VAL D’OSNE FOUNDRY, Cast iron statues of the goddess Ceres and of the nymph Pomona, after Mathurin MOREAU

These two cast iron statues depicting the Roman goddess Ceres and the nymph Pomona are the works of the sculptor Mathurin Moreau (1822-1912) for the Val d’Osne foundry. This artistic foundry was founded in 1835 by Jean Pierre Victor André, inventor of the ornamental cast irons. The foundry, with its workshops settled in the Val d’Osne (in the French department of the Haute-Marne), was first created in order to produce urban furniture and decorative cast irons, but quickly became France’s greatest artistic foundry under the name of « Fonderie d’art du Val d’Osne ». Hippolyte André (1826-1891) was appointed at the firm’s head at the death of his uncle. The growing firm absorbed then several competitive establishments, like Barbezat or Ducel. Mathurin Moreau comes from a family of sculptors : his father Jean-Baptiste, as well as his two brothers, Hippolyte and Auguste, were sculptors too. He was 21 years old when he received the second Prix de Rome, in 1842. He began displaying his work in the Salon in 1848, and was immediately noticed. During the 1855 World’s Fair he displayed with success a great fountain, which seduced the city of Bordeaux, and brought him to the top of the decorative arts stage. He won numerous awards during his career, in particular at the 1859, 1861 and 1863 Salons, and to the 1867, 1878 and 1889 World’s Fairs. Starting 1849 and for three decades, he collaborated with the Val d’Osne foundry, for which he made remarkable models for fountains, candelabras, or even garden statues like ours. His models decorate the public space of France but also Geneva, Liverpool or even Buenos Aires and Peruvian cities. We learn that our statues, presented on the foundry’s catalog, depict Ceres, goddess for harvests, agriculture and fertility, and Pomona, nymph and divinity of fruits. Both are wearing an antique tunic, falling down their bodies, underlining their breasts, with the drapery following their leg’s movements. According to the mythology, Ceres, the one holding a wheat sheaf, is supposed to be the origin for the four seasons, putting the ground’s fertility on hold during the four months when her daughter Proserpina is meant to be in the underworld next to her husband Pluto. Meanwhile, Pomona is the divinity of fruits : following the mythology, she did not like wilderness but preferred instead a well-nurtured garden. The artist represented her offering grapes with her right hand, and holding her tunic’s drapery, filled with fruits, with her other hand. Creating these two cast iron statues, the artist celebrates generosity and nature’s beauty following the neoclassical ideals of his times.

Ref.14989
Joseph Simon Volmar (Berne, 1796-1865), Pair of bears in cast iron

Joseph Simon Volmar (or Vollmar) (Bern, 1796-1865) was a Swiss painter and sculptor. Born to a painter father, he was his student at the Bern Art School and later studied in Paris between 1814 and 1824 under Horace Vernet, Théodore Géricault, and the sculptor David d’Angers. In 1836, he was appointed Extraordinary Professor of Academic Drawing and Oil Painting at the Bern Art School. His reputation extended beyond Swiss borders. Volmar was known for his historical, landscape, and animal paintings and sculptures. During the 19th century, an era marked by the emergence of national consciousness, he secured a significant public commission for the monument to Rudolf von Erlach (c. 1299-1360), the victor of the Battle of Laupen in 1339, which preserved the independence of the city of Bern on that occasion. The architect Gottlieb Debler, the caster Rüetschi von Aarau (for the equestrian statue), and the Bisontine foundry Gandillot et Roy (for the bears) collaborated with Joseph Volmar in the construction of the monument between 1841 and 1848. Its inauguration took place during the Laupenfest in 1849, and the monument is now located on the Grabenpromenade. The presence of bears serves as a reminder of the historical identity of the city. Two of the bears sculpted by Volmar were casted again through a private commission from the Marshal of Saxe, who likely admired the monument. Although the plate indicating their authorship and casting location is missing, a comparison with the monument allows us to attribute them to Volmar. These statues were likely cast in Besançon; since the Gandillot et Roy foundry was acquired by the Degoumois et Cie foundry in 1864, it is certain that the bears were cast before that date. The animals, with their varied poses, detailed fur, and great expressiveness, showcase the sculptor’s mastery of animal art. One, ferocious, bares its fangs and raises its paw as if to attack, while the other is more playful, with its ball and its almost smiling expression. In both cases, the sculptor paid great attention to the detailed representation of the animals’ fur. Volmar had the opportunity to observe bears since the city of Bern housed them, and his graphic work includes numerous representations of these animals. Thus, the bears created by Volmar for the monument to Rudolf von Erlach were so admirable that they served as models for a new casting intended for private use. To our knowledge, these bears are the only two examples that have been cast from the monument.