Prosper Lecourtier

PROSPER LECOURTIER (France, 1851 - 1924).
"Arabian Fantasy".
Gilt bronze with silver ornaments and silver-plated metal.
Signed on the base.
Wooden base.
Measurements: 85 x 77 x 26 cm (sculpture); 42 x 58 x 33 cm (pedestal).

Equestrian sculpture in which Lecourtier, with his personal style rich in details, realistic, dynamic and enormously expressive, shows an Arabian horseman brandishing his rifle while riding on an elegant horse. This is a vehicle invented in Phrygia, according to Pliny the Elder, and used by the Greeks and Romans. The orientalist theme allows the author to approach one of his favorite subjects, the equestrian, and to combine it with an exotic setting. Lecourtier excelled in the animalistic genre, and often captured them in full effort, capturing them in a fleeting moment, moving at full speed with muscles in tension. The harness, turban, rolled-up sleeves and sash have been chiseled with precision in their draping and recamation. In short, this bronze shows Lecourtier's talent for capturing animal anatomy and human physiognomy.

Born in the French town of Meuse in 1851, the sculptor Prosper Lecourtier trained with the master Emmanuel Fremiet, and specialized in the production of small sculptures, usually in bronze and animalistic theme. Today we know little about the life of this excellent sculptor, apart from the numerous occasions on which he exhibited his works at the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris, in which he participated repeatedly from 1875 until his death in 1924. In this Salon he was awarded on several occasions: second medal in 1879 for "Arabian Horse", third in 1880 and finally first medal in 1902. He was also awarded a bronze medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900. After his death, several of his works were exhibited at the 1925 Salon as a posthumous tribute. Lecourtier is mainly known for his sculptures of dogs, especially hunting dogs, but his work includes all types of animals, as well as sculptures of equestrian themes. He is currently represented in the Museums of Fine Arts in Provins and Tourcoing, as well as in numerous private collections around the world.