LENORDEZ, PIERRE

Pierre Lenordez (French, 1815-1892)

Born in 1815 in Vaast, in the district of Manche, Lenordez settled in Caen where he built his reputation as an Animalier sculptor. He is particularly known for his accomplished models of horses. His style, similar to that of the racing paintings produced in the early nineteenth century is very recognisable. Notably the shape of the head, thin nose, flared nostrils and alert eyes. He joined many horse racing groups and received commissions for portraits of known horses. Thus, his sculptures represented real sporting horses, winners of important races in the equestrian calendar or horses who had strong blood lines and were responsible for siring a succession of outstanding winners. Indeed, many of his sculptures have plaques giving details of the name of the horse, the race it had won, the year and sometimes even the lineage.

Horses were Lenordez’s main subject matter and after his debut with a wax model entitled ‘The Baron’ which was shown at the Salon of 1855 he continued to exhibit regularly up to 1877. His horses ranged from Arab Stallions, brood mares, and foals to Hunting and racing scenes.