Bronze Signed Paul Dubois Entitled Prayer, Barbedienne Founder

bronze entitled Prayer and signed Paul Dubois with the stamp of the Barbedienne Founder and the Collas reduction stamp.
This bronze model comes from the cenotaph of General de Lamoricière (1806 - 1865) in the Nantes Cathedral where Paul Dubois executed 4 statues illustrating the virtues entitled "military courage", "charity", "wisdom" and "faith" this model with a dark patina was stored in a humid atmosphere and some imperfections can be seen, also note a rubbing on the back (see photos).

dimensions height 64 cm
                      width 27 cm
                      Depth 28 cm

Paul Dubois

French sculptor (born in Nogent sur Seine (Aube) on July 8, 1827, died in Paris on May 23, 1905), son of a notary, Paul Dubois studied in Paris, at the Lycée Louis le Grand. He then attended the Faculty of Law. He moved away from law and began studying sculpture, probably prompted by his closeness to a famous great-uncle, Jean Baptiste Pigalle. He was first a student of Armand Toussaint, then entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1858. In 1857, he exhibited at the Salon, under the name of Dubois-Pigalle. He left the School after a year to go and train in Rome, his parents' situation allowing them to cover the costs of a stay in Italy of more than four years. In Rome, he met the sculptors Henri Chapu, Alexandre Falguière, the painter Jean Jacques Henner and sent to the Salon of 1863, Saint Jean Baptiste and Narcisse, works which earned him a second-class medal. During his stay in Italy and particularly in Florence, he was influenced by the art of the Italian Renaissance. In 1865, back in Paris, he had a great success with Le Chanteur florentin. He worked for the churches of the Trinity (Vierge) and for the Paris Opera (Le Chant). He is the author of numerous busts: Georges Bizet, Saint Saëns, Pasteur, the Duke of Aumale, Gound, Cabanel, the Count of Franqueville. Dubois executed monumental works such as the Equestrian Statue of the Constable Anne de Montmorency, the Monument of General de Lamoricière, the statue of Joan of Arc erected in Reims in 1896 and received with enthusiasm. He won the Medal of Honor three times: at the Salons of 1865 and 1876, at the Universal Exhibition of 1878, Dubois was decorated with the Grand Cordon of the Legion of Honor, in 1896, by the President of the Republic, Félix Faure (on the occasion of the inauguration of Joan of Arc in Reims). He was elected a member of the Institute in 1876. He was appointed curator of the Musée du Luxembourg in 1873. He was appointed director of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1878 and remained so until 1905. Dubois was also a popular painter and a sought-after portraitist. He was part of the Florentine Group, with Eugène Delaplanche, Antonin Mercié, Alexandre Falguière, who claimed his lineage to the Quattrocento.