The Winner of the Cockfight
by FALGUIÈRE, Jean Alexandre Joseph, Bronze, height 174 cm
Falgui�re sent this statue to the Paris Salon of 1864 from Rome, where he was staying after becoming the 1859 winner of the Prix de Rome. It made his reputation as a sculptor.
His victory in a cockfight prompts a naked young boy, proudly carrying his cockerel on his arm, to jump in the air with delight. This element of physical movement illustrates the sculptor’s fondness for expansive gestures.