The Met Store Sculpture*François Pompon: Polar Bear Small Black Sculpture

An artful gift .

This small sculpture recalls François Pompon’s (French, 1855–1933) marble polar bear (ca. 1923) in The Met collection. Classically trained at the École des beaux-arts and the École nationale des arts décoratifs in Paris, Pompon was a studio assistant to Auguste Rodin from 1890–97, and a frequent exhibitor at official French salons. He first exhibited a life-sized plaster version of this sculpture at the 1922 Salon d’automne at the age of 67; its popularity led to many related models in a variety of sizes and materials. While the animalier genre reached its height in mid-19th-century France, the public taste for it, lasted well into the 20th century. Classically trained at the École des beaux-arts and the École nationale des arts décoratifs in Paris, the…See More