A very stylish and large-scale bronze sculpture of a seated bear cub by Irénée Rochard (French, 1906–1984), beautifully modeled and cast in 1920. Marked in the bronze, I ROCHARD, with number 5/8.

Born into an artistic family in 1906, Rochard turned to animal sculpting very early in his career and at the age of 22, upon graduating from the Beaux-Arts school, he won a national prize for a life-size bronze of a panther. A contemporary and friend of Marcel-Edouard Sandoz and François Pompon, Rochard made his life’s work endeavouring to express not only the intelligence and dignity of the animals he sculpted, but also the fierceness.

Size: 20 x 21 x 12 in. (50 x 53 x 31 cm).