Le Premier Gibier (The First Game)
“Le Premier Gibier” is a wonderful, original signed bronze and alabaster piece, circa 1892, by the noted French artist Paul Edouard Delabrierre. You can find it in Ron Knight’s showroom on the 2nd floor of the People‘s Store Antique Center.
Paul Edouard Delabrierre (1829-1912) was born in Paris where he later became an important member of the Animalier School in the late 19th century. Delabrierre studied under the painter Delestre but found that his true calling was the rendering of three dimensional sculpture. He was greatly influenced by the combat works of the great master Antoine Louis Barye and many of Delabrierre’s combat models show this violence of nature, which was very popular at that time.
Delabrierre first exhibited at the Salon of 1848 and continued submitting works regularly until 1882. His popular, realistic subjects are very detailed and finished placing him in the top of the Animalier School. The façade of the Louvre incorporated one of his largest groups, L’Equitation, in 1857.