François Pompon
(Saulieu 1855-1933 Paris)

Ours Blanc

Plaster exhibited at the Salon d'Automne 1922
This version carved by the artist in 1925 (second of nine)
Lens stone, on original wooden base
Signed Pompon
24 x 45 x 13cm

Pompon's sculptures are characterized by an intuitive understanding, rounded forms, a refusal of geometrical shapes, and a taste for traditional materials. "I love sculpture without holes or shadows" he used to say, preferring pale stone with nothing to stop the smooth flow of light over the volumes.

Pompon made three versions of Ours Blanc, the present, like the one in Musée d’Orsay is the second version known as “Les pattes droites se touchent”. Pompon’s favorite material for the subject was Lens Stone and he carved an edition of nine in this material between 1925 and 1928, of which the present example is the second, carved in 1925

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