François POMPON (1855-1933) - Lot 100

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Lot n° 100
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Estimation :
50000 - 60000 EUR
Result : NC
François POMPON (1855-1933) - Lot 100
François POMPON (1855-1933) La Foulque, State B Created circa 1913, cast by Claude Valsuani from 1925 Bronze with brown patina shaded with green Signed "POMPON" on the back of the terrace Bears the founder's stamp "CIRE PERDUE C. VALSUANI" and numbered "N° 1" on the back of the terrace. Height : 28 cm - Terrace : L. : 19,5 cm ; W. : 6,5 cm (Small patina chips on the beak and under the right eye, a few bumps on the head, patina wear on the terrace and legs, a few traces of oxidation and stains). Provenance : - Joseph Laforge Collection (1887-1980), founder of Galerie Saint Louis in Grenoble; then, by descent Related literature: - Catherine Chevillot, Liliane Colas, Anne Pingeot, François Pompon 1855-1933, cat. Exp. Paris, Musée d'Orsay, October 18, 1994 to January 22, 1995, Paris, Gallimard / Electa, Réunion des musées nationaux, 1994, model listed under no. 97, p. 203 and p. 123, another illustrated copy pl. 34 - Liliane Colas, Côme Rémy, François Pompon, l'œuvre complète, Paris, Norma, 2025, model listed under no. 64, p. 310 Other examples listed: - François Pompon, Poule d'eau ou Foulque, bronze, cast circa 1925-1930, signed on the terrace at the back of the short side "Pompon" and bears the founder's stamp "cire perdue C. Valsuani", without numbering, H. 28.0 ; W. 6.6 ; D. 19.5 cm , Paris, Musée d'Orsay, n° inv. RF 4051. - François Pompon, Foulque, bronze with green patina, cast circa 1925-1930, signed "/POMPON/", stamped "Cire perdue C. Valsuani", unnumbered, H. 28 cm Dijon, Musée des Beaux-Arts, n° inv. 3784 bis. - François Pompon, Foulque, bronze, signed "/POMPON/", bears the Valsuani stamp and no. 1, H. 28.3 and terrace 19.5 × 6.5 cm, provenance Galerie Saint Pierre, Lyon, art trade 2024. - François Pompon, Foulque, brown patina bronze, signed Pompon, bears the founder's stamp "CIRE PERDUE C. VALSUANI" and numbered "CIRE PERDUE C. VALSUANI". VALSUANI" and numbered "N° 3" on the back of the terrace, H. 28; W. 19.5; D. 6.5 cm, acquired from Galerie Saint Pierre, Lyon, circa 1925, art trade 2025. Our bronze depiction of a coot, a bird of the aquatic rallidae family, belongs to the repertoire of small animal subjects that sculptor François Pompon enjoyed creating by working with oversimplified forms. He particularly modeled barnyard animals, which he observed in the Normandy countryside, where he had acquired a house near that of his friend René de Saint-Marceaux. He exhibited his first animal bronze, Le Poulet, at the 1892 Salon (no. 2992). The famous publisher Adrien Hébrard took an interest in his series of domestic animals, and in 1919, just after the end of the Great War, presented the first Pompon exhibition. The sculptor entrusted him with a series of fourteen animal models, including one of a moorhen (H. 19 cm), a bird similar to our Foulque. In 1922, the Polar Bear exhibition at the Salon finally established Pompon's career and led to wider distribution of his work. In 1925, Pompon teamed up with the Valsuani foundry and launched the production of his Foulque, the model for which he had designed around 1913. Our copy bears a number "1" cold-engraved on the terrace after casting, next to the founder's stamp. This numbering corresponds to a contract signed on November 24, 1924, between the sculptor and Joseph Laforge, Pompon's historical dealer and director of Galerie Saint-Louis in Grenoble. The contract stipulates a print run of 20 copies. On the same date, Pompon signed the same contract with another gallery, Galerie Saint Pierre in Lyon. While Pompon's account books show that in 1925 he delivered the first five copies, all numbered, to the Galerie Saint Pierre in Lyon, it would appear that he also delivered proofs with the same numbers to the Grenoble gallery. Our rare copy comes from the personal collection of Isère collector and gallery owner Joseph Laforge. This international Jongkind specialist, who was very involved in the development of cultural events in the Grenoble region, probably met François Pompon through the intermediary of Grenoble museum curator Pierre André-Farcy, known as Andry-Farcy, who, like Laforge, was one of the sculptor's earliest supporters and collectors.
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