Pierre-Jules Mêne, French, 1810-1879

Mêne, the most famous animalier sculptor after Barye, made his debut at the Salon in 1838 and was received by the public and the critics with great acclaim: he won medals in 1848, 1852, 1855, and 1861, in which year he was also awarded the Cross of the Legion of Honour. Within his prolific oeuvre, his variations on the theme of the hunt were his most successful and accomplished. They combine his individual and carefully modelled representations of horses and dogs with a more romantic and elegant feeling than is common in his single subject bronzes.

Datable to 1869, the year in which the original wax model was exhibited at the Salon, the Valet de chiens is distinguished as being the only work by Mêne to be purchased by the state, when a bronze version was acquired for the Musée du Luxembourg from the Salon in the following year (no.4732).

Mêne produced a very similar version of this group entitled Valet de chasse (Louis XV) et sa harde, which was listed as no.1 in the Mêne catalogue published by the Susse Frères foundry. This differs from the present group only in the modelling of the Veneur, his tricorn cap, double-breasted costume and riding boots identify him in an earlier historical setting- the period of Louis XV- whereas the present huntsman has a costume dating to the late 18th century.

An interesting feature of this bronze is the way Mêne has raked the rear of the base to give the effect of the scene being enacted on stage.