Patrick Villas (born 1961) - Lot 232

Patrick Villas (born 1961) Panther Bronze with red-brown patina Signed "Villas" and marked "cire perdue" ("lost wax") Inscribed "RB", stamped "ART CASTING BELGIUM" and numbered "3/3". Total dimensions: H. 47 x W. 68.5 cm This work was produced in collaboration with Royal Boch in Belgium. Flemish-born Belgian Patrick Villas (b. 1961) initially trained as a painter at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, but it was through sculpture that he revealed his full talent. It was at the Antwerp Zoo that the artist awakened his eye and developed a genuine interest in animal sculpture. The aesthetic research he carried out on these animals began with a study of anatomy, based on the bone structure at the origin of posture. His modelling work reflects a profound desire to understand the genesis of the animal's body in order to bring out all its power. His long hours of observation have enabled him to combine mass modelling with a supple, delicate rendering that reveals the animal's full personality. In 2010, Patrick Villas left his native Belgium to settle in France. He has developed a genuine fascination for the feline figure. The skeletons of felines are rethought and scrupulously reconstructed. He explores them in all their states: walking, running, playing or attacking.