Jean Joire

Jean Joire came from a banking family in Lille and initially also worked for the bank. He studied and lived in Lille until 1914, where he also opened a school for sculptors. He created animal sculptures almost exclusively, especially German Shepherd dogs and groups of horses such as teams and stagecoaches. From 1891 he exhibited them in the salons of the Société des artistes français. Joire is said to have been a good horseman himself.

According to the art catalogue, Chevaux en liberté (Free Horses) was made of gilded bronze, while Tête de cheval (Horse Head) was a bronze on a wooden base. The 13 cm high head of a horse was isolated from the bronze Fardier dans les Flandres (Carriage in Flanders), a group of horses pulling a stone (1912). Chevaux en liberté is not listed in the catalogue raisonné. There is, however, an unidentified work from 1925 titled La Liberté (Freedom). It is speculated that it was to be paired with the Jument trottant en liberté grès d’une barrière (Mare Trotting Freely near a Fence) from the same year, a bronze in the format 35 x 30 x 10 cm.