Born in Belgium, Agathon Léonard was naturalised French in 1887 and in 1900 he was awarded the chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur, the highest order of merit in France.
Léonard is best remembered as the French Art Nouveau sculptor responsible for creating a series of works inspired by the dancer Loïe Fuller. First produced for Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres in 1899 and exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900, they were then executed in bronze at the Süsse Frères foundry, as a result of their popularity.