Pompon: L’oeuvre Complète

A large monograph devoted to the French artist (1855-1933) renowned for his interpretive sculptures of bears, owls, wild boar, hippos, moles, and partridges.

This monograph on the sculptor François Pompon is unpublished in the editorial landscape. It traces the history and work of the artist. The book has two parts, with Pompon’s books of accounts: a bilingual illustrated biography, followed by the repertoire of works. Resolutely modern, François Pompon vivified the animal art of the early 20th century, by his original conception of the form and the emotion produced. However, he devoted most of his life to composing for other sculptors, until he began to study animals by choice and taste. Drawing on the principles of antiquity while challenging the conventions of traditional statuary, he created a realistic, suggestive and simplified style. Polar Bear carries the sculptor’s career to its peak and is today its symbol. Pompon represents the animal in its daily life, for itself and without staging. He finds the balance between realism, truth and abstraction of unnecessary details. The surfaces are polished and round, leading to a soothing and understandable beauty at first glance. The result of a long manual and experimental work, this creative impulse leads François Pompon to new masterpieces sublimating the animal world. Bear, wild boar, hippopotamus, owl, mole or partridge, the animals of Pompon are touched by the love that emerges.

Text in English and French.

Liliane Colas graduated from the Ecole du Louvre in 1973. After completing a thesis on François Pompon, as well as a book, for the traveling exhibition François Pompon, 1855-1933 in 1994, she specialized in animal art. In 2002, she published the biography and catalogue raisonné of the work of Armand Petersen, animal sculptor. A historian of animal art from the Golden Age period of the 1930s, she writes for exhibitions, catalogs and responds to requests requiring her expertise. Côme Rémy is an independent art expert, specializing in 20th century decorative arts. He was responsible for the Hermès Conservatory of Creation, then Senior Specialist in 20th century decorative arts at Christie’s. He is now the head of Compagnie Côme REMY since 2000.