Gaston de Foix (Gaston de Foix)

Son of Jean de Foix and Marie d'Orléans, duc de Nemours and nephew of king Louis XII, Gaston de Foix (1489-1512) is remembered for having led the Italian army at the age of only 23. Dating probably from the late 1830s or early 1840s, Barye's depiction of the victorious soldier was first offered around 1850. The model does not appear to have been too popular, Poletti and Richarme estimating the total number of lifetime and posthumous épreuves (the latter offered by Brame) to be less than fifty.

Another cast of this model, formerly in the collection of Eduardo Guinle (d. 1941), was sold in these rooms, 25 April 2003, lot 51 ($35,850).