ARTISTS
José Maria David was born in 1944 in an artist family in Loire Atlantic. His mother, Paule Le Pichon de la Garde, is a great aristocrat from a family of sailors and conquistadors. Violinist and actress, she was the one who nourished the artist flame in David.
He spent his childhood near the Forest of the Gavre. This early contact with nature has a deep influence in his work. Nature, wildlife are his Muse. This can be seen in “The Elephants”, “The Siberian Tiger”, “The Felines”,…
His career first began as an antique dealer before becoming a sculptor in 1986. His work focuses primarily on sculpturing animals and whose style characterized by the speed of execution.
His style is often compared to that of the animal sculptor Rembrandt Bugatti.
He has created 300 sculptures over twenty years.
“David is considered today as the uncontested master of the new animal school” - Doctor Hachet, Prizewinner of the Academy of Fine Arts.
The main motif of his work is animals from domestic to wild ones. At the beginning of his career, the favorite subject was horse. He said “Horses helped me enormously. They gave me the confidence in myself. I owe them a lot.”
It’s only then, his bestiary became richer. He had serious concern for the important of detail in his creations.
“I’m not trying to be figurative, I’m still. For example, when I make a tiger, it has to look like a tiger, when I make an elephant, it must look like an elephant.
In fact, I try to be different, I try to give life to the animals. It is a mixture of observation and research of Beauty” - said David.
"The Elephants"
"The Siberian Tiger" in bronze
"The Felines"
José-Maria David