After Guillaume Coustou the Elder (French, 1677-1746): A pair of patinated bronze models of The Marly Horses


on naturalistic bases, 56cm high (2)
|Louis XV commissioned the original pair of horses for his royal hunting lodge, Chateau de Marly to replace two groups by Antoine Coysevox (1640-1720) of Fame and Mercury on horseback. The Coysevox pair were moved to the Tuileries Gardens in 1719 and Coustou was commissioned to create something equally as impressive to fill the vacant space of the abreuvoir. His design reinvented the theme of the colossal Roman marbles in the Piazza Quirinale, Rome, fitting as Coustou had just returned from a four year scholarship there.Related Literature: The French Bronze 1500-1800, M. Knoedler & Co, New York 1968.