MÊNE, Pierre-Jules
French sculptor, the most prolific French animal sculptor of his time. He worked in Paris and was famous for his naturalistic representations of all kind of animals, particularly horses.
The son of a metal turner, he received his earliest teaching on sculpture and foundry work from his father, and he opened his own foundry in the 1850s, creating lost-wax castings of his sculptures in bronze. Although mostly self-taught, Mene was encouraged by sculptor René Compaire, and was also influenced by two painters: Edwin Landseer of England with his expressive sentimentality, as well as Carle Vernet of France, in capturing spirit, grace and compositional beauty in sculptural form.
Mêne produced a number of animal sculptures, mainly of domestic animals including horses, cows and bulls, sheep and goats which were in vogue during the Second Empire. He was one of a school of French animalieres which also included Rosa Bonheur, Paul-Edouard Delabrierre, Pierre Louis Rouillard, Antoine-Louis Barye, his son-in-law Auguste Cain, and François Pompon.
Mêne specialized in small bronze figures. His work was a popular success with the bourgeois class and many editions of each sculpture were made, often to decorate an increasing number of private homes of the period.
