French Antique Bronze Sculpture “Scottish Hunter”, Pierre Jules Mene ca. 1900

PIERRE-JULES MÊNE
French, 1810-1879

Group of a Scottish Hunter with Fox and Hound (1861)

Sand-cast patinated bronze, signed P.J. MENE in naturalistic base
Executed circa 1900, likely atelier Mêne-Cain

19 5/8" H x 11 3/8" diameter

This model isolates the essential action from Mêne’s larger 1861 composition The Taking of the Fox, reducing the scene to its principal actors: the Scottish hunter, the hound and the captured quarry. A kilted hunter stands on a naturalistic circular terrace, raising a fox in one hand while the dog presses upward at his side. The compression of the subject gives the group unusual clarity. Costume, hunting equipment, animal anatomy, and gesture are all handled with equal precision.

The composition belongs to the sporting branch of Mêne’s production, where British hunting subjects and Scottish themes were an important part of his appeal to an international audience outside of France. Its strength lies in the balance between descriptive exactness and controlled narrative. The upward lift of the fox is answered by the hound’s alert and expectant movement below, creating a compact vertical tension without excess theatrics. Mêne’s treatment remains observational throughout, with crisp surface modeling and a firm silhouette carrying the subject.

One of the central sculptors of the French animalier school, Mêne exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon and, unusually, cast through his own foundry, allowing close control over the finish and dissemination of his models. This subject proved especially successful in reduction. Issued as an independent edition, it attracted sustained interest through the late nineteenth century, and most recorded casts appear to date from that period. Later Susse casts are comparatively scarce, despite the firm’s announcement of the model in its 1908 catalogue. Comparable examples have been recorded under the titles Scottish Hunter, Scottish Hunter Holding a Fox, and Scotsman Showing a Fox to a Dog.

Our cast was probably executed under the direction of Mêne's son-in-law, Auguste Cain, in the foundry he continued for his father-in-law after Mêne's death in 1879.

Literature: Pierre-Jules Mene, Catalogue raisonné, Poletti & Richarme, 2007, p. 34, ill. 21

Condition: Missing feather in the hunter's cap. Minor wear to the original patina, overall a fine presentation.

ref. 507LPI22P