CAIN, Auguste Nicolas
French sculptor, a prolific and successful member of the Animalier School. He worked under François Rude, Alexandre Guionnet (active 1831-1853) and Pierre-Jules Mêne, whose daughter he married, as was the tradition of Paris craftsmen at that time. They would marry their mentor’s daughter, or even widow, in order to continue the family workshops and business with ease. Cain also worked in and used his father-in-law’s foundry, where some of his larger models of animals were cast.
Cain first exhibited in the Salon in 1846 and exhibited a total of 38 models at the Salon from 1846 to 1888. He won several awards. He concentrated on animals in their natural habitat, especially the gruesome scenes of combat between carnivores and other animals, but also sculpted a wide range of domestic and farmyard animals as well.
After 1868 he concentrated on the state monuments that he was called upon to produce including those at Chantilly and the Luxembourg Gardens. He took over the foundry and works of his father-in-law after his death, continuing to produce Mêne’s works until 1893. After Cain died in 1894 the foundry was closed and all of Cain’s and Mêne’s models were sold to other foundries that continued casting them into the 19th century.
