François Pompon

"L'Ours Blanc (the White bear)" - sculpture by François Pompon

François Pompon (9 May 1855 – 6 May 1933) was a French sculptor and animalier.

Born in Saulieu in Burgundy, he moved to Paris. Beginning in 1870 he studied under the noted animalier Pierre Louis Rouillard at the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs, and later worked as Auguste Rodin's assistant. He became famous for his stylized animals with L'Ours Blanc in 1922 ("the White Bear" also known as "Polar Bear in Stride "), a huge marble sculpture largely reproduced (Jardin Darcy – Dijon, for example). The original is located at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

François Pompon may be considered as a forerunner of modern sculpture, and influenced Constantin Brâncuși, among others.

"Petite chouette (owl)" - sculpture by François Pompon

Location of sculptures

• Musée des Beaux-arts, Dijon, France
• Musée François Pompon, Saulieu, Burgundy, France
• Musée d'Orsay, Paris
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
• Middelheim Open Air Sculpture Museum, Antwerp, Belgium

External links

• Biography on the National Museum of Wildlife Art

Wikimedia Commons has media related to François Pompon.