This stylized figural study captures a young girl restraining a struggling swan trying to take flight. His technique is looser and more gestural than most of his earlier historical work. The work is quite a heavy weighing in at 65 lbs and boasts an opulent dark patina. Unlike his signature work Gloria Victis, which has numerous versions, reproductions, and casts, Girl and Swan may be of just a few casts or may be unique. In fact, another example of this work can not be found. Work is signed Mercier top of the base. br with Barbedienne foundry mark on the tree stump behind the left foot. Mercie used Barbedienne for many of his works. Purchased from Toulouse Antiques from the br "The Original Miami Beach Antique Show" 2002. This vetted and venerable show is the best for traditional academic art and sculpture. br Mercié, a native of Toulouse, where he was born in 1845, studied sculpture at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His work is in the collections of br Musée d'Orsay , Art Institute of Chicago, Lourve, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, Courtauld Institute of Art, Musée des Augustins , The Walters Art Museum,