Bronze Statue of David and Goliath - Antonin MERCIÉ - "David Vainqueur". 1880.

Bronze Statue of David and Goliath - Antonin MERCIÉ (1845-1916). "David Vainqueur". 1880. (74cm version)*.

Superb patinated bronze figure of "David" cast by Ferdinand Barbedienne, one of the leading bronze fondeurs at the time. The bronze is signed to the base ‘A. Mercié’, and ‘F. Barbedienne fondeur Paris’, and includes a reduction stamp for Collas. Plaque to the front of a beautiful and substantial marble stand - dated 8th April 1880 (in Roman numerals) and inscribed "Friends of Friends Lovers" (in French). Superbly detailed and excellent early sculpture / bronze casting.

Condition: Excellent patinated bronze in perfect condition. Paired with high quality and heavy marble stand (with some minor frits).

Overall height (including stand) = 93.5cm

*This superb patinated bronze sculpture is after Antonin Mercié’s celebrated original known as ‘David Vainqueur’, or simply ‘David’. The subject is David, the Biblical hero whose tale of heroism and victory against seemingly insurmountable odds has provided fruitful material for artists for centuries. The sculpture depicts a youthful, lithe David standing in contrapposto, one foot raised on the severed head of Goliath. Mercié’s original was one of the most renowned and consequential artworks produced during the 1870s.

*Mercié created the original plaster model in Rome in 1872, where he was studying having won the Prix de Rome in 1869. He sent the plaster model to the Paris Salon of 1872, where it won a First-Class medal, a Legion of Honour for its sculptor, and a commission for a bronze version by the State (put on public display in 1874). Ferdinand Barbedienne, renowned foundry, cast versions of Mercié’s original in bronze in several sizes.