Mercury
by PIGALLE, Jean-Baptiste, Terracotta
This terracotta sculpture, now in New York, was the destined to be the preparatory model for Pigalle’s morceau de reception. It was exhibited at the Salon of 1742. The marble version was presented to the Academy in 1742 and became instantly famous. It was Pigalle’s first tremendous success, in fact, the most successful ever in the Academy’s history.