Marius Jean Antonin Mercié Nude Sculptures

Antonin Mercié 1845-1916 French David vainqueur de Goliath (David Conquering Goliath) Signed "A.Mercié" Bronze Created by the hailed French sculptor Antonin Mercié, David vainqueur de Goliath stands among the artist's crowning achievements in sculpture. An exceptional rarity capturing a timeless biblical tale, the larger-than-life sculpture is one of only three large-scale bronzes of Mercié's David ever produced; one greets visitors as they enter the famed Musée d'Orsay in Paris, while the other stands proudly in front of the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse. When the artist Antonin Mercié showcased his grand plaster depicting David and Goliath at the 1872 Paris Salon, it overjoyed both the critics and the visitors and won First Prize. Impressed with the superb model, the French state commissioned two bronzes from his plaster. Because of the purchase by the French state, all further casts were prohibited, with the singular exception being a bronze the artist...