Young Praying Man, Bronze By Barbedienne After Antique

Young Praying Man, large bronze signed Ferdinand Barbedienne founder in Paris.
Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1892) is a French industrialist famous for his art foundry specializing in the bronzes of artists of his time and antiquity. He won numerous medals at the Universal Exhibitions and his workshops counted several hundred people. The quality of the cast and patina makes his bronzes sought after by collectors.
The Young Praying Man is a bronze from the end of the 4th century BC discovered in Rhodes and kept in Berlin at the Altes Museum. Universally admired since its discovery, it was brought back to Berlin by Frédéric Le Grand then kidnapped by Napoleon and later by Stalin.
It represents a young naked man with his arms raised to the sky as a sign of prayer and worship.It is one of the most famous antiques and images in the world.
This bronze, melted in the 1840s and 50s, is in very good condition, the brown patina is superb. It appears in the Barbedienne catalog since at least 1845 (photo).
Its height of 102 cm close to the original bronze which is 124 cm makes it a quite remarkable and rare piece. It is probably an order piece, because this size does not appear in the Barbedienne catalog, perhaps made for an exhibition or it is indeed the order of a collector.