Description

MARIUS JEAN ANTONIN MERCIÉ (1845-1916) David defeating Goliath Model created in Rome 1869-70; published by Barbedienne (1810-1892) from 1875. Bronze with brown patina Signed "A MERCIE" on the terrace Bears the founder's stamp "F. BARBEDIENNE. Fondeur" on the back of the base (Small deformation of the sword) David defeating Goliath, bronze sculpture with brown patina by Marius Jean Anthonin Mercié HEIGHT 62.50 CM - WIDTH 24.6 IN. Related work Antonin Mercié, David, circa 1872, bronze, H. 184,1 ; W. 76,8 ; D. 83,2 CM, Paris, Musée d'Orsay, inv. RF 186. Related literature Florence Rionnet, Les bronzes Barbedienne, l'œuvre d'une dynastie de fondeurs (1834-1954), Paris, Arthena, 2016, model listed under no. 1072, p. 372. With this shipment from Rome, Antonin Mercié met with immediate success and recognition from the State, which awarded him the Légion d'honneur and commissioned a bronze version in 1872, which was placed in the Musée des Artistes Vivants in 1874. It was also a popular success: the work was reproduced in all the newspapers. Bronze reductions multiplied, and the Barbedienne foundry produced six versions in different sizes. On December 18, 1916, the newspaper l'Écho reported a news item that summed up the general craze for this figure: "The most popular statue made by Antonin Mercié is certainly his 'David vainqueur'. The little Italians who sell plaster casts in the streets of Paris almost always carry several models of this figure in their baskets. [...] " Antonin Mercié's contemporaries saw in this sculpture, sent from Rome in 1870, an echo of the events that were shaking France at the time. After the Prussian victory, the French spirit was rising and already looking forward to a forthcoming reconquest. Mercié saw in the biblical hero an expression of this hope. He makes David a personification of France and Goliath a symbol of the Prussian oppressor. Mercié's use of the biblical subject follows in the footsteps of Florentine sculptors of the Renaissance, notably Donatello, who gave his David a civic and political dimension. From the Florentine master, Mercié also takes on the graceful allure given by the canon of the body and the slight contrapposto. To this youthful gentleness, Mercié added more dynamic and realistic details, making his sculptures popular with the Third Republic. In the wake of this David, Mercié received numerous commissions for public monuments exalting the fatherland and its heroes.

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MARIUS JEAN ANTONIN MERCIÉ (1845-1916) David defeating Goliath Model created in Rome 1869-70; published by Barbedienne (1810-1892) from 1875. Bronze with brown patina Signed "A MERCIE" on the terrace Bears the founder's stamp "F. BARBEDIENNE. Fondeur" on the back of the base (Small deformation of the sword) David defeating Goliath, bronze sculpture with brown patina by Marius Jean Anthonin Mercié HEIGHT 62.50 CM - WIDTH 24.6 IN. Related work Antonin Mercié, David, circa 1872, bronze, H. 184,1 ; W. 76,8 ; D. 83,2 CM, Paris, Musée d'Orsay, inv. RF 186. Related literature Florence Rionnet, Les bronzes Barbedienne, l'œuvre d'une dynastie de fondeurs (1834-1954), Paris, Arthena, 2016, model listed under no. 1072, p. 372. With this shipment from Rome, Antonin Mercié met with immediate success and recognition from the State, which awarded him the Légion d'honneur and commissioned a bronze version in 1872, which was placed in the Musée des Artistes Vivants in 1874. It was also a popular success: the work was reproduced in all the newspapers. Bronze reductions multiplied, and the Barbedienne foundry produced six versions in different sizes. On December 18, 1916, the newspaper l'Écho reported a news item that summed up the general craze for this figure: "The most popular statue made by Antonin Mercié is certainly his 'David vainqueur'. The little Italians who sell plaster casts in the streets of Paris almost always carry several models of this figure in their baskets. [...] " Antonin Mercié's contemporaries saw in this sculpture, sent from Rome in 1870, an echo of the events that were shaking France at the time. After the Prussian victory, the French spirit was rising and already looking forward to a forthcoming reconquest. Mercié saw in the biblical hero an expression of this hope. He makes David a personification of France and Goliath a symbol of the Prussian oppressor. Mercié's use of the biblical subject follows in the footsteps of Florentine sculptors of the Renaissance, notably Donatello, who gave his David a civic and political dimension. From the Florentine master, Mercié also takes on the graceful allure given by the canon of the body and the slight contrapposto. To this youthful gentleness, Mercié added more dynamic and realistic details, making his sculptures popular with the Third Republic. In the wake of this David, Mercié received numerous commissions for public monuments exalting the fatherland and its heroes.

Estimate 1 500 - 2 000 EUR

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For sale on Wednesday 03 Jul : 17:30 (CEST)
paris, France
Tajan
+33153303030
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