Auguste Cain

Le Lion de Nubie et sa Proie, by Auguste Cain

Auguste Nicholas Caïn (November 16, 1822 – August 6, 1894) was a noted French sculptor in the Animaliers school, known for his portrayals of wild and domesticated animals.

Life

Caïn was born in Paris, and studied under Rude, Guionnet, and Pierre-Jules Mêne (whose daughter he married in 1852). His first exhibit in the Salon of 1846 was a wax model of a linnet defending her nest from a rat, later cast in bronze and shown at the 1855 Salon. Between 1846-1888, Caïn exhibited 38 models at the Salon.

From 1868 onwards he concentrated on monuments, including the Chiens de meute at the Château de Chantilly, Le Lion de Nubie et sa proie in the Jardin du Luxembourg, and Tigress and Peacock in the Gardens of the Tuileries. In 1879 he assumed management of his father-in-law's foundry upon Mêne's death.

Henri Caïn, a well known librettist, and Georges Cain, the painter, were his sons.

Selected works

• Tigre terrassant un crocodile, bronze (1873), jardin des Tuileries.
• Lion et lionne se disputant un sanglier, bronze, jardin des Tuileries (Copy, perhaps original in Central Park, New York, with donor's copy in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow). Another copy was installed at Jarmers Plads in Copenhagen in 1889).
• Deux lionnes attaquant un taureau, bronze, 1882, jardin des Tuileries
• Tigresse apportant un paon à ses petits, bronze (1873), jardin des Tuileries.
• Lionnes du Sahara, bronze (1867), deux exemplaires qui ornent la Porte des lions coté Nord de l'aile de Flore, le coté Sud arbore lui les Lions assis de Barye.
• La Tégresse Férieuse, bronze (1863) cadeau au Préfier de Télemcen ... Algerie (1866)
• Le Lion de Nubie et sa proie, bronze (1870), jardin du Luxembourg.

Photos

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  Deux lionnes attaquant un Taureau

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  Tigre terrassant un crocodile

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  Le Lion de Nubie et sa Proie

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  Lion et Sanglier

Literature

• Les Animaliers, Jane Horsell, 1971.
• The Animaliers, James Mackay, 1973.
• Animals in Bronze, Christopher Payne, 1986.
• Bronzes of the 19th Century, Pierre Kjellberg, 1994.
• A Concise History of Bronzes, George Savage, 1968.
• Dictionnaire des Peintres et Sculpteurs, E. Benezit, 1966.)
• Dictionnaire de Sculpteurs de l'ecole Francaise, Stanaslas Lami, 1914.

External links

• Auguste Cain in American public collections on the French Sculpture Census website