Marius Jean Antonin MERCIÉ (Toulouse, 1845 - Paris, 1916) David defeating Goliath Bronze with light brown patina Signed 'A. Mercié' near the left foot Bears the founder's mark 'PARIS. F. BARBEDIENNE. FONDEUR' and the stamp 'REDUCTION MECANIQUE A. COLLAS'. Inscribed 'CHO / 345'. Model executed in Rome in 1869-70; published by Barbedienne in this size from 1875. Height: 74 cm David conquers Goliath, bronze, signed, by M. J. A. Mercie H. 29.13 in. Bibliography: related : Florence Rionnet, Les bronzes Barbedienne, l'œuvre d'une dynastie de fondeurs, 1835-1954, Paris, 2016, Arthena, p. 372, model referenced under no. 1072 Related work : Antonin Mercié, David, model created in 1869, cast around 1872, bronze statue, signed "Mercié", inscribed "Cast by Vor Thiébaut et fils", H. 184.1 x W. 76.8 x D. 83.2 cm, Paris, Musée d'Orsay, inv. RF 186 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 from him 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. More and more bronze reductions were made, and the Barbedienne foundry produced six versions in different sizes. On 18 December 1916, the newspaper l'Écho reported a news item that summed up the general enthusiasm for this figure quite well: "The most popular statue made by Antonin Mercié is certainly his 'David the Victor'. 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. In using this biblical subject, Mercié follows in the footsteps of the Florentine sculptors of the Renaissance, in particular 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 that made his sculptures popular during the Third Republic. Following this David, Mercié received numerous commissions for public monuments exalting the fatherland and its heroes. Marius Jean Antonin MERCIÉ (Toulouse, 1845 - Paris, 1916) Related work : Antonin Mercié, David, model created in 1869, cast around 1872, bronze statue, signed "Mercié", inscribed "Fondu par Vor Thiébaut et fils", H. 184.1 x W. 76.8 x D. 83.2 cm, Paris, Musée d'Orsay, inv. RF 186 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 from him 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. More and more bronze reductions were made, and the Barbedienne foundry produced six versions in different sizes. On 18 December 1916, the newspaper l'Écho reported a news item that summed up the general enthusiasm for this figure quite well: "The most popular statue made by Antonin Mercié is certainly his 'David the Victor'. 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. In using this biblical subject, Mercié follows in the footsteps of the 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 that made his sculptures popular during the Third Republic. Following this David, Mercié received numerous commissions for public monuments exalting the fatherland and its heroes.