Maine, Pierre Jules

Pierre Jules Men was born in Paris in 1810 in the family of a foundry master. Father himself taught the boy metal processing methods and the young Mene began to create small sculptures. He did not receive special education in any of the famous schools. But he went through some training from sculptors Rene Compaire and A.-L. Barye in Paris. Like many other famous sculptors, Mene began his career with the production of decorative patterns for porcelain manufacturers. He created the decoration for watches, as well as fulfilled small commercial orders from bronze.

In 1837, Mene founded his first foundry. In 1838, he already made his debut at the Paris Salon, where he received the approval of critics and universal recognition.

Until his death, Mene participated in the Paris Salon every year with his works, which were repeatedly awarded high prizes and awarded prizes. Mene was a regular participant at the World Exhibitions in London, where he was awarded the Legion of Honor. Mene was extremely popular in England, as well as in France. He was awarded many awards: a 2nd place medal in 1848, a 1st place medal in 1852 and 1861, and a 3rd place medal in 1855. In 1861, he received the Cross of the Legion of Honor. The English press praised him "for excellence in animal modeling, in the correct display and beauty of his ideas."

Mene worked mainly with pets. His famous works "The Dog Striking the Fox", "The Horse with the Striking Wolf" are recognized as the standard in Animalistics. And the quality of his work in metal processing made him the authority of foundry. His workshops were always filled with orders. Mene released its catalogs in which more than 150 items were presented. Mene sculptures were a great success with the Parisian aristocracy, they acquired it for interior decoration and for private collections.

Toward the end of his life, Mene handed over the reins of his foundries to his son-in-law, also subsequently a renowned animal sculptor, Auguste Nicolas Caen , who for twelve years continued to produce products with impeccable quality.

In 1894, after the death of Auguste-Nicolas Caïn , the last of the Mene foundries was closed, and the remainder of its models were sold to the Susse Freres foundry, which continued to pour Mene's print work on the foundry, “imprinting” twentieth-century technology on them. The works of Pierre-Jules Mene were replicated in bronze, silver, spy, cast iron, terracotta. According to his models and samples, many workshops worked not only in France, but also in Germany.

Today, examples of Mene's work are found all over the world, including museums such as the Ashmolean Museum , the Louvre , the Metropolitan , and the RW Norton Art Gallery .

• French painting
• French sculpture