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Lot Essay
The present sculpture is based on a monumental bronze by François Girardon created for the Place Louis-le-Grand (today the Place Vendôme) in Paris. Measuring over six meters high, Girardon's representation of the Sun King executed in a single casting in 1692 and inaugurated in 1699 atop a large pedestal in the center of the square which was designed and constructed by Jules-Hardouin Mansart.
Owing to the immensity of the original sculpture, a number of reductions were created in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, including one with similar measurements to the present group in the Louvre which was in Giardon's personal collection until his death, and another version in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle. The 19th century also saw the production of many editions of a similar size, examples of which sold Sotheby's, Paris, 23 March 2006, lot 19 (27,600 EUR); and Property from a château in western France; Beaussant & Lefèvre, Paris, 16 October 2009, lot 100 (36,000 EUR).
Owing to the immensity of the original sculpture, a number of reductions were created in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, including one with similar measurements to the present group in the Louvre which was in Giardon's personal collection until his death, and another version in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle. The 19th century also saw the production of many editions of a similar size, examples of which sold Sotheby's, Paris, 23 March 2006, lot 19 (27,600 EUR); and Property from a château in western France; Beaussant & Lefèvre, Paris, 16 October 2009, lot 100 (36,000 EUR).