Jules DALOU (1838-1902) - Man leaning on a shovel with both hands

"Man leaning on a shovel with both hands
Proof in bronze with a shaded brown patina
Lost wax from Susse Frères Éditeurs
Signed on the baseboard
Stamp of the founder
Circa 1900/1910

Height: 18,5 cm
Width: 6,7 cm
Depth: 6,6 cm

Bibliography: terracotta model listed under number 180, page 253, in the book "Jules Dalou, le sculpteur de la République" published by Paris Musées - Petit Palais.

Biography :
Jules DALOU (1838-1902)

"The Sculptor of the Republic
After a modest Parisian childhood, Dalou began his career under the Second Empire. Napoleon III reigned over France and under his direction, Baron Haussmann transformed the capital. Paris became a gigantic construction site and the young Dalou learned his trade by creating decorative sculpture.

But it is quickly interrupted by the war of 1870 and the Paris Commune in which Dalou takes part. Forced into exile, the sculptor moved to London where he was very successful with English amateurs. During this period, he produced more intimist subjects.

He returned to France in 1879, thanks to the amnesty of the communards.
The City of Paris commissioned his most famous work, the "Triumph of the Republic" with its revolutionary aesthetic. This masterpiece now stands in the center of the Place de la Nation (Paris).

"The Triumph of the Republic" is the first of a long series of public monuments designed by Dalou for the capital. Like all sculptors of his time, he also produced busts and decorative works for private clients, which were highly appreciated.

At the end of his life, he devoted himself to a project that was close to his heart: the "Monument to the workers", a monument that would exalt the work and the condition of the worker.
This project was never completed, but there remains a whole series of figurines, currently preserved in the Petit Palais in Paris, representing "the workers of the fields and cities", all sculpted with a concern for truth and realism.