Oil on Wood Clown Joseph Kutter 1894 1941 Luxembourgish Artist

  

Attributed to Joseph Kutter 1894-1941. Dimensions 24.5 x 30.5 cm. The Chimpanzee Walking in Bronze with a black patina and a marble cast base by C. Auguste Nicolas Trémont, also known as Auguste Trémont, is a Luxembourgish painter and sculptor specializing in animal sculpture. At the end of the First World War, Auguste Trémont came to Paris where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts.

Visits to the Jardin des Plantes, the zoological garden with animals, sparked his vocation. When asked later why he chose to represent animals, he replied, "Because it was the most difficult task." In 1924, Auguste Trémont created his first sculptures. The late 1920s and early 1930s were his most productive years. It was during this period that he sculpted two large lions in Paris, which now adorn the entrance of the Luxembourg City Hall.