José-Maria David grew up near the Gâvre forest; one of the hunting areas frequented by the Dukes of Brittany in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. This environment had a huge influence on him and caused him to be passionate about art, animals and nature. He had a career as an antique dealer until 1986, when he decided to dedicate himself to his love for sculpting animals.

David has a particular skill for portraying the strength and dynamism of moving animals and is especially well regarded for his portrayals of big cats (an example of a lion on the chase ``Lion Chassant`` sold for 255,000 at Marc-Arthur Kohn on 27th May 27, 2014, achieving a world record for the artist). His bronzes have been compared to those of...