Michel Decoux

MICHEL DECOUX (Belgium, 1837-1924).
"Lady with fawn and wolf".
Patinated bronze sculpture on marble base.
Signed.
Measurements: 59 x 12 x 40 cm.

Art Deco sculpture representing a stylized lady dressed in a long dress, playing with a cheerful fawn and a wolf that are heading towards her, in a completely dynamic and moving position.

Within the framework of the Romantic revolution, a large part of the sculptors rebelled against the prevailing academicism of the time by claiming works that represented animals, whether domestic, wild or exotic. Until then, animals had never been the absolute protagonists of sculpture, although they were in the field of painting. This group of pioneers of animalistic sculpture, with Antoine Louis Barye (1796-1875) as the main figure, developed a new concept of sculpture, based on a realistic language but at the same time seeking the wild and free expressiveness of animals. Baudelaire defined this new language as a reflection of the agitation of the soul, expressed through a wild tension. As with contemporary painters, sculptors of animalistic themes base their work on a precise and faithful analysis of nature.