Charles Valton (French 1851-1918)
Reclining Lioness, circa 1880
Bronze, green and brown patina
4 ¾ H. x 9 ⅛ W. x 4 ⅜ D. inches
Overall height including period marble base: 5 ¾ inches
Signed on base: VALTON
Stamped on base:
E. Colin & Cie / Paris (Emile Colin & Cie, in operation, 1882-1898)
Charles Valton was a French sculptor known for his works created in the animalier style, a 19th-century movement which depicted animals in active poses with realistic anatomy. He produced numerous small-scale models of African and Indian wildlife, including lions, tigers, jaguars, camels, and elephants, often using granite or white marble as the base for the bronze casts around the animal to depict stone or snow.
Valton was born in Pau, France on January 26, 1861. A student of both Antoine Louis Barye and Emmanuel Fremiet, he studied at the famous Paris zoological garden, “Jardin des Plantes”. He made his debut at the Paris Salon in 1868. Subsequently, Valton’s work was exhibited regularly in the Paris Salons between 1868 and 1914.
By 1914, over seventy of his models were exhibited at the Salon. In 1875, he became a member of the Society of French Artists. He received medals for his sculpture in 1875, 1885, as well as at the Exposition Universelle of 1889 and 1900.In 1883, he became a Professor of Sculpture at the Germain Pilon School. In 1906, Valton received the Cross of the Legion d’Honneur. The artist died in 1918 in Paris, France.
His museum works include Mammoth and Polar Bear, (Natural History Museum, Paris), Head of a Lion, ( Castres), Lion, (Constantine), and Tiger and Tigress at the Musèe Galliera, Paris.