VERY LARGE BRONZE "PEGASIS CARRYING THE POET TO THE REGIONS OF DREAM" WITH BROWN PATINA

An important bronze sculpture with a brown patina, depicting " Pegasus Carrying the Poet to the Realms of Dreams, " also known as " Apollo on Pegasus, " after a model by Jean Alexandre Falguière . It represents a beardless, nude young man riding Pegasus, the winged horse, bareback, soaring above the globe. The tortoise-shell lyre he holds in his left hand signifies that he is a poet. The entire piece rests on a round, sea-green marble base. The work is signed A. Falguière on the base and bears the foundry mark " FUMIERE ." This sculpture belongs to the Neo-Florentine movement of 19th-century classicism, with references to the Renaissance, particularly to the male figures of sculptors like Donatello, and a classical inspiration for the subject matter.

Jean Alexandre Joseph Falguière (1831-1900) was a French sculptor, a student of Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse and François Jouffroy. In 1859, he won the prestigious Prix de Rome for sculpture, which allowed him to continue his studies at the Villa Medici. He was subsequently appointed professor at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and became the mentor of many artists, the most famous of whom was Antoine Bourdelle. His renown led to numerous public commissions for monuments: the Balzac monument to replace Rodin's rejected design, the Gambetta monument, and the Lafayette monument, now in Washington, D.C. The Fumière and Gavignot foundry, an art foundry operating from 1895 at 32 rue Guersant, took over the Thiébault & Frères company, one of the largest bronze foundries of the second half of the 19th century. They notably produced many monumental works for Falguière, including "Apollo on Pegasus."

Circa: 1880

Dimensions of the marble base: 40cm x 8 cm

Condition report: In good overall condition.