In this new gallery dedicated exclusively to bronze sculpture, sculptor Jean Pronovost presents The Sphinx. Originally created in large format, it is now presented in a reduced size, adapted for bronze sculpture. Jean Pronovost’s most significant sculptural works, such as The Sphinx and Virtus et Potestas, are now available in a limited edition of 8, all signed and numbered. Other sculptures, such as Tales from the Plastic Island and Bride of the Cosmophore, will soon be added to the collection. Each sculpture is 18 inches high and weighs approximately 35 pounds.

Bronze is an alloy composed of over 80% copper and tin, with the tin content typically less than 20%. A bronze sculpture by Jean Pronovost will last virtually forever. The properties of this noble material are such that bronzes have been recovered intact from shipwrecks and the buried ruins of ancient civilizations. True bronze is even resistant to raging fires, rusting only on the surface, and requiring only a bit of sanding and patina to look as good as new. A bronze sculpture thus becomes a work of art that can be handed down from generation to generation for

THE SPHINX:

“What is that which has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed?” This is the riddle of the Sphinx.  To answer it, you must first know yourself.  If you answer wrongly, she devours you. Identity issues are her favorite snack!

Regarded as the guardian of civilization by the Egyptians and the one who challenges man with her riddle in several ancient Greek plays and myths, the Sphinx is a timeless and powerful symbolic figure. She is an ancient symbol of balance and justice, possessing a dual nature: her beautiful female body, with the paws and tail of a lion, represents the power of the earth, while her eagle wings symbolize the air and the spirit. This dualism encourages us to reflect on ourselves, both as individuals and as a society. We must strive to maintain balance between these two natures we all possess: materialism and power, on one hand, and idealism and compassion, on the other. She symbolizes mankind’s highest aspiration – to rise above its lower animal nature and reach its fullest potential and spirit.

Sculptor Jean Pronovost chose bronze as the medium for these unique editions of The Sphinx because, for millennia, this material has been considered the most durable and hardest metal available to human civilizations. In ancient Greece, Corinthian bronze was even regarded as more precious than gold or silver.