François POMPON

(1855-1933)

As from 1902, Pompon started modeling its sculptures outside of his artist’s studio and therefore made himself a portable workbench. He was then ready to follow the animals of the farm and those of the poultry yards around Cuny-Saint-Fiacre, in Normandy, and model them with utmost precision. He wanted to capture their exact movement, in the open air, in full daylight. Pompon made several sketches of hens and roosters. In 1906, the founder A.A. Hébrard acquired his ‘Cayenne Hen’ in full ownership. A masterpiece in its sharpness of observation and finesse, it was exhibited at the Salon des artistes français that same year, under the number 3461. It was then that Pompon became an animal sculptor by taste and by necessity. His artworks were regularly displayed at the Salon des artistes français such as, for instance, Rooster in 1907, Mole in 1908, Calf and Heifer in 1910, Goose… His sketches of farm animals are numerous and there are many drawings and plaster models of turkeys (hen and cock), roosters and all breeds of hens.