François Pompon had been working since the age of 15 for a marble-maker, first in Burgundy (Saulieu) then in Paris, where he arrived at the age of 20 after studying Fine Arts. In his early years, Pompon was a sought-after practitioner, carving marble for Auguste Rodin's studio.
At first, he sculpted human figures; for the Salon of 1888, for example, he created a sculpture of Cosette, the famous character from Les Misérables; but he soon abandoned them in favor of animals, which he observed at the Jardin des Plantes.
Admiring the purity of Egyptian art, he drew inspiration from it to create the smooth, hairless, featherless style of his sculptures.
This plush was inspired by François Pompon's L'ours blanc.
François Pompon - White Bear - Between 1923 and 1933. Stone statue. H. 163.0 ; W. 251.0 ; D. 90.0 cm.
The White Bear is his finest achievement. When it was presented at the Salon d'Automne in 1911, at the age of 67, it finally won him public recognition.
This sculpture is undoubtedly Pompon's best-known work. Fascinated by animals, he enjoyed observing them at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. Back in his studio, he sculpted bears, panthers, dogs, chickens and rabbits, simplifying the forms to capture the essence of each animal.
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