Each model shows great attention to detail and a passion for and knowledge of the equestrian world from which most of them are drawn. His work combines the realism and attention to detail of Mene with the knowledge of anatomy and the romanticism of Barye
Comte du Passage developed a fascination for horses at an early age and went on to make them the central theme of his oeuvre. Du Passage belonged to a group of 19th Century aristocratic sculptors who turned their own hand to the medium they so admired.
He was involved in an accident which left him partially paralysed and confined to a wheelchair. Fortunately, he was able to continue with sculpture and spent most of his days drawing and modelling in the stables of his family home – Chateau de Bernaville, at Frohen
Count Arthur Marie Gabriel du Passage was born on 24 June 1838 at the Chateau of Bernaville in Fisheu le Grand. From an early age he developed a love of the horse, and equestrian subjects provided the main theme of his work throughout his career.
Whilst serving in the army he studied under Antoine-Louis Barye and P.J. Mene, and exhibited in Paris for the first time in 1865. Shortly after this Du Passage suffered an accident that left him paralysed from the waist down, confining him to a wheelchair and as a result he left the army and returned to the family home, the Chateau de Bernaville. With the help of his old Polish assistant he was able to spend most days drawing and modelling at the stables.
Du Passage’s most famous pieces are ‘Trotting Horse and Groom’, ‘The Smuggler’ and ‘Joan of Arc’. Although the majority of Du Passage’s sculptures depict horses he also produced some fine models of dogs, including a fine model of ‘Two Greyhounds Coursing a Hare’.
The Compte du Passage died at the Chateau de Bernaville on 1 February 1909.
Compte du Passage’s brother, Vicomte Charles Marie also was a sporting artist and his illustrations were included in “La Vie Parisienne” and “L’Art et la Mode”.
