Striking Art Deco bronze by Frederic C. Focht (French, 1879–1937), circa 1930, featuring a nude male figure captured in a dramatic forward leap, arms outstretched as he rides a stylized arrow that arcs above billowing clouds, symbolizing speed, progress, and the machine age.
The figure’s taut anatomy and windswept pose are rendered with crisp modeling and a deep patina that emphasizes the play of light across the surface, while the arrow and cloud motif create a powerful sense of motion characteristic of Focht’s best-known works such as Vitesse and his aviator bronzes.
The sculpture rests on an elegant, chamfered black marble base with contrasting veining that grounds the composition and enhances its graphic silhouette.

Frederic C. Focht was born in Paris and studied under the celebrated sculptor Alexandre Falguière; he exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français, receiving the prestigious Médaille d’Honneur in 1900 at the age of just twenty‑one, and went on to create some of the most iconic Art Deco bronzes of the 1920s–30s, often celebrating aviation, sport, and heroic modern figures.
example, signed in the bronze, encapsulates Focht’s fascination with speed and heroic movement and offers a museum-quality centerpiece for any serious Art Deco or modern sculpture collection.