28 May 1835 – 29 May 1894
Jules Moigniez was a celebrated French animalier sculptor renowned for his intricate and elegant bronze sculptures. Born in Senlis, Oise, France, Moigniez was the son of a metal gilder. His father’s decision to purchase a foundry to cast Jules’s works gave the young artist a distinct advantage, allowing him to produce his sculptures without incurring the high costs typically associated with foundry work.
Moigniez studied under Paul Comoléra, a protégé of François Rude, in Paris. This tutelage deeply influenced his artistic focus, particularly his remarkable bird sculptures. Over his 40-year career, Moigniez exhibited 30 works at the prestigious Paris Salon between 1855 and 1892. His debut at the Exposition Universelle of 1855, featuring his plaster Pointer Stopping at a Pheasant, set the stage for a prolific career.
Moigniez’s bronzes were cast using the lost wax method and were noted for their extraordinary detail and variety of patinas, including gilded and silvered finishes. His works often incorporated intricate bases adorned with foliage and undergrowth, distinguishing them from those of contemporaries like Pierre-Jules Mêne and Antoine-Louis Barye. While some critics found his excessive chiseling overly detailed, his sculptures were celebrated for their elegance and refinement.
Birds dominated his oeuvre, but Moigniez also created exquisite sculptures of dogs, racehorses, and hunting scenes. His works gained immense popularity in the United Kingdom, accounting for more than half of his lifetime sales, and later found a significant following in the United States. Notably, his bronze Chien braque arrêtant un faisan (1859) was acquired by the French government for the château of Compiègne.
In his later years, Moigniez suffered from a prolonged illness and tragically took his own life one day after his 59th birthday in Saint-Martin-du-Tertre. Despite this sorrowful end, his legacy endures through his breathtaking sculptures, particularly his bird pieces, which remain among the finest of his era.
