What is it about bears, I wondered? Pandas and polar bears are our fellow mammals, magnificent creatures, and endangered species both, thanks to human heedlessness. Their native habitat is the fraying edges of the Arctic Ocean, but the polar bear has been commemorated by artworks at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris.Emile Galle's vase made of patte
de verre attempts to recreate the native frosty atmosphere, with a bear standing on an ice flow. A pretty piece of work but the positioning of the back legs is inexplicably awkward and uninformed, when you realize that there were polar bears at the zoo in the Jardin des Plantes at the turn of the century.
Not surprisingly, Francois Pompon's white marble bear secured its creator's reputation when it was first shown at the Salon d'Automne of 1922. Pompon, who had apprenticed with Camille Claudel and Auguste Rodin by preparing their marble blocks, spent hours studying the live polar bears at the zoo. In his animal figures, Pompon dispensed with details in the efffort to understand the essential animal. In his attentiveness, he got right what Galle missed: the asymmetrical relationship of the front and back legs. In the process, he created an Art Deco masterpiece. No matter that the bear is anchored to an arbitrary marble slab, she is caught forever in motion. I like to imagine magine Pompon's bear strolling the museum at night, on sure footing.
Image credit : photograph by Patrice Schmidt, Musee d"Orsay, Paris.
8 comments:
Lovely post. Wish I was in Paris to marvel at this majestic bear.
Thanks so much for this - that vase looks amazing. i live just outside Paris so i will pop in and take a look!
Thanks for sharing
Hannah
If you're ever in Dijon, there's a life-size copy of Pompon's polar bear in the Jardin Darcy and it looks as if it's just about to stride out of the gate into the town centre. There's also a very good collection of his smaller animalier sculptures in the town's Musee des Beaux Arts.
Thanks, Andy, for more information about Pompon. His animal sculpture captures expressive truths in several styles. Strange to think that he was sixty-seven when he became an "overnight success." As for the Galle vase, I hope it's on view. The Musee d'Orsay has a plethora of Galle's works to choose from.
Very nice post, just found your blog but bookmarked and looking forward to more.
Thnak you, Andrew, and welcome. I'll do my best.
I've always admired Pompon's sculpture of the polar bear without ever really thinking about the form, compared as you say with the bear on Galle's vase. Thank you for pointing it out. Now I can admire it more!
I think Pompon has transmuted the essence of polar bear into the Art Deco style, if that isn't too pretentious. The polar bear is impressive from every angle. There are more photos, also by Patrice Schmidt, on the Musee d'Orsay website.
Post a Comment