Seated Hermes or Mercury Bronze Statue After Jean Pigalle 19th Century

Antique bronze sculpture of man reading a letter or proclamation. Marble base, 19th century. Unsigned.

Grand Tour 19th century bronze sculpture of Narcissus after the original found in 1862 at Pompeii. When first found in Pompeii it was identified as Narcissus. Years later it was identified as Dionysus. Mounted as a lamp. Early 20th century. Beautiful marble finial.

Brown patina bronze sculpture depicting Mercury (Hermes), god of commerce, thieves and messenger of the gods, seated on a rock tying his winged heel-piece. He is wearing a petasus, a winged hat, and his caduceus is resting on the ground. This sculpture, based on a model by Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, shows a young god, naked and in motion. In a double-swivel position, he prepares to take off. The bronze, resting on a circular stepped base in griotte red marble, is signed on the terrace "Pigalle, 1745". The original of this sculpture was Pigalle's reception piece for the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture on July 30, 1744, which entered the Louvre between 1848 and 1850. Jean-Baptiste Pigalle: The sculptor of the Enlightenment A great French sculptor, Jean-Baptiste Pigalle was born in Paris in 1714. He worked on his art from an early age under the guidance of Robert Le Lorrain and later Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne. Convinced that his art was the meaning of his life, he returned to Italy in 1734 to perfect his technique. On his return, he began his "Mercure attachant sa talonnière" (1740), which enabled him to enter the Beaux-Arts. His reputation soared among the Parisian aristocracy. Mme de Pompadour took him under her wing, and commissions poured in. Juggling between the Baroque and the Classical, he painted portraits of Diderot and Voltaire, then created the famous funeral monuments...

A stunning and high quality true pair of French 19th century Louis XVI st. patinated bronze, ormolu and black Belgian marble statues of Mercury and Fortuna, after a model by Louis Gu...