A very fine bronze group by Mène titled Vache et son veau (a Flemish cow suckling her calf), with incredible detail and exceptional textural quality, signed “P. J. MÈNE” (9” by 14 ¼”). Mène is referred to as one of the leading 19th Century “animaliers,” along with Bayre and Moigniez.
Pierre Jules Mène (French, 1810-1879) began his artistic career in 1838 when he exhibited animal sculptures at the Paris Salon. This particularly fine group was shown originally at the Musée d’ Orsay in 1845 in Paris. Mène’s work is also exhibited in the Louvre Museum, Paris; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Courtauld Institute of Art, London; and the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.