Jules Moigniez (French 1835 to 1894)
A noted “animalier” sculptor, Moigniez was born in 1835 in Senlis, France. The artist’s most plentiful subjects were game birds – inspired by his studies with Paul Comolera – but he sculpted dogs, horses and a few equestrian groups.
Moigniez first exhibited his work at the age of twenty at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1855. Thereafter he exhibited regularly at the Salon in Paris until 1892. Moigniez also exhibited at the London International Exhibition of 1862 where the English country gentry proved to be a very receptive audience. Moigniez also found a healthy market for his work in Victorian America.
After 1857 all of Jules Moigniez’s bronze sculptures were cast by his father, a metal glider by training, who established a foundry solely for the propose of producing his son’s work. The detail in these casts is exceptional. Many of Moigniez’s bronzes were gilded, silver-plated or had very different and unusual patinas applied to them as the father-son team was constantly experimenting.
Jules Moigniez became ill in 1869 and never recovered, eventually taking his own life in 1894. During this period Moigniez pere continued casting his son’s works until his own death. At that time the foundry was sold to Aususte Goughe, who cast most of Paul Comolera’s works. Goughe continued to produce Moigniez’s sculpture until after the First World War when styles and tastes changed.
For further infomation on Moigniez, consult: The Animaliers, by James Mackay (1973); A Concise History of Bronzes, by George Savage (1968); or Bronzes of the 19th Century by Pierre Kjellberg (1994).