Alfred BOUCHER (1850-1934) The runners also known... Lot 311

Alfred BOUCHER (1850-1934) The runners also known as Au but Green patina bronze proof on an oval base H : 68 - W : 101 - D : 51 cm Signed A Boucher and numbered 3076 Alfred Boucher, an academic sculptor, was greatly inspired by mythological or biblical themes in a contemporary approach. With this work, he creates a group of three runners in full effort. Their bodies in an academic rendering, translates his attachment to a realistic conception, his passion for the living models being magnified by his interpretation of balance. The strength and power of the effort allow to reach the "goal". The artist translates the impression of speed by an extended position, superimposing the bodies and suggesting the race. The short-cut hair adds a contemporary look to these three naked athletes, in view of the end of the race, and is part of a sporting trend that would lead to the organisation of the first Olympic Games of the modern era. Boucher was rewarded with this sculpture at the 1886 Salon and at the 1889 Exposition Universelle. The State commissioned a monumental bronze copy to be installed in the Luxembourg Gardens before being melted down by the Vichy government like nearly one hundred other bronze sculptures for the German war industry. Bibliography: Bryan Catley, Art Deco and other Figures, Edition Antique Collectors' Club, Woodbridge, 2003, p.42. Pierre Kjellberg, Les Bronzes du XIXème siècle, p. 119.