Mare and foal - Jean-Charles Collard (1881-1951)

Signed "J. Collard" and with foundry stamp Batardy Brussels, lost wax.

Jean-Charles Collard Antwerp 1881-1951 Brecht.

Sculptor-Animalier Jean-Charles Collard was the twin brother of the sculptor George Collard. They studied together at the Academy of Antwerp and were pupils of Thomas Vinçotte. In 1903, he received the Second Prize of Rome and in 1907, he won the Godecharle Prize (Rik Wouters and Marcel Wolfers were second) with the work Le Repos, Seated Woman which he exhibited at the Brussels Salon. Probably due to his family connection with the animalist Josuë Dupon, which brought him into contact with his friend Rembrand Bugatti, he later concentrated mainly on animal sculptures. In 1918 he also recognized the "Protest of Antwerp artists and intellectuals against administrative separation", addressed to the German Chancellor Count von Hertling in Berlin. He became a professor at the Academy of Antwerp. During World War II, his studio was destroyed, resulting in the loss of much of the documentation of his work. One can only estimate the breadth and stylistic evolution of Jean Collard's work on the basis of ten sculptures and a handful of documents and illustrations. Rigorous realism and a very thoughtful modeling technique set him apart from his brother Georges, whose approach was more informal and aimed for more powerful effects. As far as we know, Jean-Charles did not produce any monumental work. Like his brother, he was active in several artists' associations and between 1910 and the outbreak of World War II his work was regularly shown at exhibitions in the Netherlands and abroad. He died in Brecht in 1951. Literature: Sculpture in Belgium, Engelen-Marx p.265. Rembrandt Bugatti and the Belgian animal image. 1860-1930. Hessenhuis 1990. P.140. Sladmore Gallery 57 Jermyn Street, St James's, London, SW1Y 6LX