Late 19th Century Figurative Sculptures

The Bronze beautifully cast after the original by Pierre Julien (1731-1804) named “Amalthée et la chèvre de Jupiter”  was executed by the renowned Ferdinand Barbedienne foundry durin...

Monumental sized 'Dying Slave' sculpture after the original by Michelangelo at the Louvre Museum in Paris, cast by Barbedienne as a showpiece of their craft, with outdoor patina and ...

Paul Dubois (French 1829 –1905) 'Florentine Singer' French Romantic period cast bronze sculpture, after the original by Dubois in 1865, mechanical re...

Classical patinated bronze sculpture of Diana by Ferdinand Barbedienne French, late 19th century Dimensions: Height 60cm, width 40cm, depth 28cm ...

A fine little antique cabinet bronze sculpture by Georges Marie Valentin Bareau, it tells the story of the annals of history as they are recorde...

'David Vainqueur de Goliath' - A fine Patinated bronze figure by Antonin Mercié, cast Ferdinand Barbedienne. French, circa 1880. Rich brown patiantion with gold highlights, the base cast with a lozenge with the Hebrew for David and the base with a roundel for Réduction mécanique Collas. The figure depicts the Biblical story of young David's final triumph over Goliath and is one of the most recognisable and celebrated sculptures of the nineteenth century. Influenced by the works of Verrocchio and Donatello, the piece earned Mercié a first class medal as well as the rank of Chevalier de légion d'honneur at the Paris Salon of 1872. The life-size version of Mercié's David is in the permanent collection of the Museé D'Orsay (RF 186, LUX 74). Marius-Jean-Antonin Mercié (1845- 1916) was born in Toulouse and studied at the École des Beaux Arts, Paris, under Alexandre Falguière and François Jouffroy, He made his debut at the Salon in 1868 when he won the celebrated Grand Prix de Rome with the group 'Thesée vainqueur du Minotaure'. This entitled him to study in Rome, and whilst studying in Rome from 1869 to 1873, he already executed the models for his first two popular works, 'David' and 'Gloria Victis'. In 1870 whilst Mercié was still in Italy, the Prussians invaded France and he began, somewhat prematurely, modelling Gloria Victis to commemorate his country’s imminent victory. Unfortunately the victory never came and Mercié re-modelled his sculpture replacing the victorious soldier with one of defeat thereby transforming an allegory of ‘Glory to the Victors’ into one of ‘Glory to the Vanquished’. The model for the wounded soldier was reputably based on his friend and fellow sculptor Henri Regnault who was killed on the last day of the war. The full-size plaster model of Gloria Victis was exhibited at the Salon of 1874, winning the Medaille d'Honneur and critical acclaim. It was then purchased by the City of Paris for the sum of twelve thousand francs and cast in bronze by Victor Thiébaut for a further eight thousand francs. The original bronze is now placed in the central courtyard of the Paris Hôtel de Ville. The plaster version was re-exhibited at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1878, alongside bronze reductions of the group by Barbedienne. After Mercié completed the plaster model of his David in Rome, it was also sent to Paris and exhibited at the Salon of 1872, where it was a great success, winning a first class medal. A life-size bronze version of the work was then exhibited at the Exposition Universelle of 1878 and acquired by the Museé du Luxembourg. In 1873 Mercié was given the Cross of the Legion of Honour - an unprecedented award for a sculptor who was still a student at the French Academy in Rome. In 1882 he enjoyed further great success with a group ‘Quand Même...

Signed F. Barbedienne Fondeur and stamped Achille Collas. A patinated bronze figural group representing a shepherd playing his flute with a young centaur imposing silence at his s...