PAUL DUBOIS, "MILITARY COURAGE", BARBEDIENNE FOUNDRY

A bronze sculpture with a brown patina, depicting an allegorical subject representing "Military Courage." Signed on the back: "P. DUBOIS." An early cast, bearing the "F. BARBEDIENNE Fondeur Paris" mark and the A. Collas mechanical reduction stamp. Paul Dubois (1829-1905) entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1858, then traveled to Italy. Florentine Renaissance sculpture profoundly influenced his art. "Saint John the Baptist," exhibited at the Salon in 1864, and his "Florentine Singer," the following year, are two works that brought him fame. From 1880 onward, he also worked as a painter, exhibiting both sculptures and paintings simultaneously. This particular piece, presented at the Salon in 1881, is inspired by a funerary work by Michelangelo: the statue of Giuliano de' Medici in the Medici Chapel in Florence. "Military Courage" is one of four bronze figures adorning the corners of the cenotaph of General de la Moricière. This monument, erected by the architect Louis Boitte for Nantes Cathedral, was inaugurated in 1879. Numerous casts were made in five sizes by the Barbedienne foundry. The plaster model by Dubois is in the collections of the Troyes Museum of Fine Arts. The original bronze is located in Nantes Cathedral. Late 19th century, circa 1890. Dimensions: W: 21 cm, D: 24 cm, H: 51 cm. In very good condition.