Alfred Dubucand
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Alfred Dubucand (25 November 1828 – 1894) was a French animalier sculptor who worked in the mid-to-late 19th century. His works were often juried into the annual
Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...
art exhibition in Paris where he contributed works over the course of his career. Dubucand made his debut at the 1867 Salon with a wax model of a dead pheasant.


Early life

Dubucand was born in Paris, France, on 25 November 1828. He was one of the prize pupils of Antoine-Louis Barye. Dubucand made his debut at the 1867 Salon with a wax model of a dead pheasant, a rather inauspicious start when considering the higher quality sculptures he would submit later in his career.


Career

He modeled mainly animal groups, producing a number of deer, dog, and horse sculptures. His better casts feature a warm, mid-brown
patina Patina ( or ) is a thin layer that variously forms on the surface of copper, brass, bronze and similar metals and metal alloys (tarnish produced by oxidation or other chemical processes) or certain stones and wooden furniture (sheen produced b ...
tion, sometimes coming in even lighter shades bordering on a very light yellow, being nearly the color of the
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
metal itself. He frequently experimented with chemical patinas, learning the patination process from his teacher and mentor Barye who stretched the boundary with his now-famous dark green patinas. Dubucand paid strict attention to the
anatomical Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...
detail of his subjects, often being so concise that he actually showed the veins in the legs of his deer and
elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...
sculptures. Realism was certainly one of his strong points as a sculptor of animals. His animals never appear "frozen" and he was able to portray each animal's natural movements and stances. He created his original work in wax or clay and then would cast his pieces in bronze in what is called the lost wax casting method, although some of his work was completed using the sand casting method. Many of his orientalist sculptures feature North African scenes portraying Arab tribesmen and nomads aboard horses and
camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...
s. On some of his casts, his name is shown with a backward or reversed "n", the same situation occurring on certain bronzes by Fratin. While an unusual sight to the eye, such instances of the backward "n" do not create any problems regarding the authenticity or originality of the artwork. Although he would live for another eleven years, Dubucand's final submission to the Salon was ''Cavalier et femme arabes à la fontaine'' in 1883.


Death

Dubucand died in 1894, the month and day being unknown.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dubucand, Alfred 19th-century French sculptors French male sculptors Animal artists Painters from Paris 1828 births 1894 deaths 19th-century French painters French male painters 19th-century French male artists