BRONZE OF "MERCURY ATTACHING HIS HEEL STRAPS" AFTER PIGALLE

Bronze sculpture with golden patina representing Mercury, god of trade, thieves and messenger of the gods, sitting on a rock tying his winged heel. He is wearing the petasus, a winged hat, and his caduceus is on the ground. This sculpture, based on a model by Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, shows a young, naked god between rest and momentum. In a double swivel position, he prepares to leave. The bronze is signed on the terrace "Pigalle, 1746".

Jean-Baptiste PIGALLE (1714-1785) was a French sculptor who learned sculpture from Robert Le Lorrain and Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne. After a trip to Italy, where he drew inspiration from Antiquity, he created this model as a reception piece for the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture in July 1744. The marble original is now in the Musée du Louvre. Considered a master sculptor of his time, he was under the protection of Madame de Pompadour from 1750 onwards.

Base diameter: 31 cm
19th century, Circa: 1850
Dim: W: 30cm, D: 36cm, H: 60cm.
Dim: W: 11,8in, D: 14,2in, H: 23,6in.
Condition report: In good condition.