Animalièr sculpture is a kind of sculpture characterized by works whose main subject is a pet, wild or imaginary.
In Europe, animal sculpture has long been considered a minor discipline. It was a turning point at the Paris Salon in 1831, where a sculpture by Antoine-Louis Barye entitled (Tigre) aroused a gharial aroused the admiration of the public. Barye was one of the first sculptors to abandon the mythological representation of the animal in favor of a naturalistic representation. It was during this period, at the end of the 19th century, that the rebirth of animal sculpture developed.
Animal sculptures were particularly popular during the Second Empire. It is also possible to talk about a school of French animals that would include Pierre Louis Rouillard, Antoine-Louis Barye, Auguste Cunin, Pierre Jules Mêne and François Pompon more recently.
Some of the exponents of the Animalèr current are:
Antoine Aigon (1837-1894) - Alphonse Arson (1822-1882) - Alfred Barye (1839-1882)- Antoine-Louis Barye (1796-1875) - Michel Bassompierre (né en 1948) - Berny Charnet (né en 1960) - Isidore Bonheur (1827-1901) - Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899)- Vincent Bouillat (1953-) Rembrandt Bugatti (1884-1916)- Auguste Cain (1821-1894)- Louis-Albert Carvin (1875-1951)- Joseph Chemin (1825-1901)- Paul Comoléra (1818-1897)- Paul-Édouard Delabrièrre (1829-1912)- Germain Demay (1819-1886)- Judith Devaux (1970-)- Auguste-Louis Dion (1824-1873)- Alfred Dubucand (1828-1894)- Christophe Fratin (1800-1864)- Emmanuel Frémiet (1824-1910)- Camille Gâté (1856-1900)- August Gaul (1869-1921)- Adolphe-Victor Geoffroy-Dechaume (1816-1892)- Eugène Gonon (1814-1892)- Hyppolite Heizler (1828-1871)- Lous-Théophile Hingre (1832-1911)- Henri-Alfred Jacquemart (1824-1896)- François-Xavier Lalanne (1927-2008)- Edwin Landseer (1802–1873)- Prosper Lecourtier (1851-1924)- Arthur Le Duc (1848-1918)- Clovis-Edmond Masson (1838-1913- Édouard Martinet (1963-)- Pierre Jules Mène (1810-1879)- Jules Moigniez (1835-1894)- René Paris (1881-1970)- François Pompon (1855-1933)- Irénée Rochard - Pierre Louis Rouillard (1820-1881)- Jean-Claude de Saint-Marceaux (1902-1979)- Mathilde Thomas-Soyer (1858-1940)- Charles Valton (1851-1918)- Roch Vandromme (né en 1953)- Louis Vidal (1831-1892) - Jean Louis Vuilleumier