Jules Dalou

The Hunter (Le Chasseur)

Model: Paris, about 1898; Cast: Paris, early 1900s

Bronze

63.9 x 35.5 x 28 cm

This is one of ten casts after a model for a three metre high sculptural group intended for the stairwell of the duc de Gramont’s country house. The figure’s pose is based on a famous antique sculpture, the Apollo Belvedere (Vatican Museums), and the composition was also influenced by sculpture made for the gardens of Louis XIV’s châteaux. Ironically, Dalou was an ardent Republican and socialist and in 1871 he was forced into a period of exile in England, where his work inspired a generation of sculptors.

Purchased 1964 (No. 64.3)