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Long Rider Art - page 2
| In London's beautiful Canning House there is a statue of Robert "Don Roberto" Cunninghame Graham. The original is owned by his great-niece, Jean Cunninghame Graham, and this copy was presented to Canning House by the most famous Long Rider of the 20th Century, Aimé Tschiffely. |
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Sandy Lewis, one of The Guild's friends at The
Society of the Military Horse - www.militaryhorse.org
- has discovered a
portrait of Lieutenant Jonathan Boniface, author of "The Cavalry Horse and
his Pack" Sandy has kindly sent a copy of the portrait to us. Click on picture to enlarge. |
A bronze statue of a horseman has been discovered in Belgium - and thanks to The Guild it has been proved to be French Long Rider Charles Cottu! Charles Cottu rode his mare, "Irish Lass," from Vienna to Paris and back in 1899.
We received an email out of the blue:
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Dear Long Riders.
I am so happy to discover your site!
I am a horse fan, a rider and a equestrian
sculpture collector and dealer. I have just acquired a beautiful bronze by
Pierre Tourgueneff, French sculptor of Russian origin (1853-1912) marked
VIENNE -PARIS, signed and dated 1899. After some research I found your
site and the picture of Charles Cottu. This picture has obviously been the
model for the bronze celebrating this event with title Vienne Paris and
the date 1899!
Please help.
Thanks and best regards
Thierry Van der Veken
Waterloo, Belgium
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We agree - the sculpture was clearly modelled on the photograph from The Guild's files! We asked Thierry for more information about the sculptor and the Long Rider art, and got our answer in French and English:
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TOURGUENEFF Pierre Nicolas,France, Paris 1854 - 1812 Sujet: « Charles Cottu sur Irish Lass » Record Paris – Vienne - Paris à cheval en 1899 Description : 49,5 x 50 cm, signé, daté 1899 et titré VIENNE- PARIS sur la terrasse Fonte: superbe édition ancienne en bronze Patine: médaille nuancée Prix : sur demande Litt. : The Long Riders Guild; Dictionnaire des Bronzes du XIXème siècle – Pierre Kjelberg, p. 627 Animals in Bronze, C. Payne. Note: Ce bronze exceptionnel est une commande célébrant l’exploit de Charles COTTU, qui établit un record de voyage équestre de Paris à Vienne et retour sur sa jument Irish Lass en 1899. Notre Charles Cottu est vraisemblablement apparenté au lieutenant de vaisseau Charles Cottu. Ce dernier fut l’ami de Charles Ferdinand de Lesseps et l’auteur de nombreuses chroniques de voyages en Méditerranée et en Afrique publiées dans la Revue des Deux Mondes au milieu du XIXème s. Grâce à The Long Riders Guild nous avons retrouvé l’extraordinaire document photographique d’époque ci-dessous qui servit objectivement à Tourgueneff pour exécuter cette commande. Elève de Frémiet, Pierre Nicolas Tourgueneff, né à Paris d’une famille d’origine russe, se spécialise dans les œuvres de commande : portraits équestres et portraits de chevaux. Il expose au Salon de 1880 à 1911 où il remporte plusieurs prix.
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TOURGUENEFF Pierre Nicolas France, Paris 1854 - 1812 Subject: « Charles Cottu on Irish Lass » Record ride Paris to Vienna and back on horseback in 1899. Description: 19 ½’’x 19 5/8’’, signed, dated 1899, and titled PARIS VIENNA on terrace. Cast: superb antique bronze edition Patina: rich light-brown Price: on request Lit: The Long Riders Guild; Dictionnaire des Bronzes du XIXème siècle – Pierre Kjelberg, p. 627 Animals in Bronze, C. Payne Note: This exceptional bronze is a commission celebrating Charles COTTU who established an equestrian record in 1899 riding his mare Irish Lass from Paris to Vienna and back. Our Charles Cottu is probably related to Lieutenant Charles Cottu , naval officer, who was a friend of Ferdinand de Lesseps (Suez canal founder) and author of numerous travel chronicles about East Mediterranean and Africa travels published in the French “Revue des Deux Mondes” mid XIX c. Thanks to the Long Riders Guild, we have found this extraordinary photographic period document which obviously helped Tourgueneff to execute this commission. Pupil of Fremiet, Pierre Nicolas Tourgueneff, born in Paris from a Russian family, specialized in commissions: equestrian portraits and horse portraits. He exhibited at the Salon des Beaux Arts from 1880 to 1911 and received numerous awards.
To learn more about Thierry Van der Veken and his beautiful collection of sculptures, please visit his website: www.artequus.com
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