José-Maria David

JOSÉ-MARIA DAVID (France, 1944).
"Guépard en course".
Patinated bronze.
Exemplary 4/8.
Signed and justified.
Presents foundry stamp: "Fonderie Chapon".
Measurements: 66 x 92 x 30 cm.

French sculptor born in Loire-Atlantique in 1944, José-Maria David grew up in the vicinity of the forest of Gâvre, a natural environment that would decisively mark his artistic sensitivity and his later almost exclusive dedication to the animal world. Coming from a family of artists, he developed from a very early age a marked inclination for plastic creation.

Before devoting himself fully to sculpture in 1986, he worked as an antique dealer and collaborated between 1984 and 1986 with Aristotle Onassis, an experience that allowed him to travel extensively and broaden his cultural horizon. From that moment on, his production focuses on the sculptural representation of animals, both wild and domestic, a field in which he has been recognized as a key figure of the new contemporary animalist school.

David's work is characterized by energetic modeling and rapid execution, capable of capturing the essence of movement in a reduced time. According to Dr. Hachet, laureate of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, his work constitutes "a consistent bestiary from which strength and dynamism emerge". His sculptures, often conceived in action, seek not only to represent the animal, but to breathe life into it through a synthesis between direct observation and a refined aesthetic search.

In "Guépard en course", this intention reaches one of its most successful expressions: the feline is captured in full race, with a formal tension that transmits speed and power.

The sculptural language of José-Maria David has often been compared to that of Rembrandt Bugatti, famous for his representations of animals at the beginning of the 20th century. Like Bugatti, David privileges the capture of the instant and expressive intensity. While Bugatti tends towards a restrained melancholy and more impressionistic modeling, David emphasizes the kinetic force and immediacy of gesture.