PAUL JOSEPH RAYMOND GAYRARD (Clermont-Ferrand 1807 – Enghien les Bains 1855)
Reclining Deerhound
signed, inscribed, and dated GAYRARD, LONDON 1848 on the base
bronze with dark brown patina and golden highlights
height 5 inches (12.7 cm), length 12 inches (30.5 cm)
PROVENANCE
The Sladmore Gallery, London, 2009
where acquired by
Private Collection, N.Y. until the present time
Born in Clermont, France, in 1807, Paul Joseph Raymond Gayrard was the son and pupil of sculptor Raymond Gayrard (1777 – 1857). He also studied under François Rude (1784 – 1855) and David d’Angers (1788 – 1856).[1] Gayrard’s success stemmed from his debut at the Salon in 1827, where he attracted a number of wealthy clientele. Although his main body of work consisted of portrait busts of famed contemporaries, he also followed his father in producing allegorical and religious works, including four evangelists for the Sainte-Clotide Basilica in Paris.[2]
Gayrard also produced some animal bronzes, mainly horses and dogs, such as the Reclining Deerhound, also referred to as the Chien couché or “sleeping dog.”[3] Its date – London 1848 – implies that, although he was born and died in France and active at the Salon in Paris for nearly thirty years, Gayrard did spend time working in England. Gayrard’s animal bronzes comprise what is perhaps his smallest body of work, though one would not know this from the fine detail of the fur and expression of his Reclining Deerhound. Gayrard has humanized his subject, giving the dog personality through its upturned gaze and slightly furrowed brow as it looks out loyally at its viewers.
[1] Pierre Kjellberg, “Gayrard, Paul” in Bronzes of the 19th Century, Schiffer Publishing Ltd., Atglen, Pennsylvania, 1994, p. 355.
[2] James MacKay, The Dictionary of Western Sculptors in Bronze, Baron Publishing, England, 1977, pp. 152-153; and Pierre Kjellberg, p. 355.
[3] Pierre Kjellberg, p. 355.