Sculpture – The Flight of the Duck, Irénée Félix René Rochard (1906-1984) – Bronze

Irénée Félix René Rochard (1906-1984)

Irénée Rochard is a French animal sculptor, born in January 1906 in Villefranche-sur-Saône in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Coming from a family of artists, he turned to this path very early.
From 1924 to 1928, Irénée Rochard studied at the Schools of Fine Arts and Decorative Arts.
In 1938, he joined the Society of French Artists and obtained several prizes and distinctions for his sculptures.

During the interwar period, the young artist met François Pompom, Édouard Sandoz and other artists from the animal sculpture world.
Irénée Rochard then realizes that working on this theme appeals to him and decides to embark on this practice.
If Irénée Rochard appreciates the sculpture of animals so much, it is because it allows him to "pay homage" to them.
Its objective is to show their personality and bring out the most important aspects of their personality, their softness or their fierceness.
The realism of his sculptures is also the result of very great observation skills for the time.
Its rigor and the harmony of its production place it in an Art – Deco style.

At the time, the sculptor worked mainly with bronze, but also created figurines in ceramic, wood, granite or even marble.
His work has always stood out from that of others thanks to its modern style, the elegance and grace of its forms.
This aesthetic was inspired by the work of François Pompon and Édouard-Marcel Sandoz.
Irénée Rochard will also dedicate part of his career to a collaboration with the Italian sculptor Ugo Ciprani.

As soon as he finished his studies, his work was appreciated by the public and critics.
The dozens of awards he received during his career, including the Taylor Prize and the Prize of the Institute of Fine Arts, demonstrate the interest that was shown in his work.
The sculptor died in January 1984 in Paris.