A skillful study of anatomy and realism, Antonin Mercié’s sculpture depicts the aftermath of the biblical shepherd David’s dramatic felling of the giant Goliath with a slingshot. Mercié spent the volatile years surrounding the Franco-Prussian War studying sculpture in Rome. One of the first works he sent back to France was a plaster sculpture of David resheathing his sword after slicing off Goliath’s head. For Parisians encountering this work at the annual spring Salon exhibition, it was a sign of hope for the future: just as David had overcome a more powerful foe, so France would overcome its recent defeat by the Germans.

The sculpture won Mercié a gold medal at the Salon, and the following year he was awarded a Legion of Honor, an extraordinary honor for an art student. The sculpture’s image was widely reproduced in magazines, and the Barbedienne foundry sold bronze versions of it in several sizes.