David

Alfred Stevens 1818 - 1875

Summary

Standing male figurine, knees sightly bent and left arm extended with his hand curled forward as if around an object. Over the left arm is a strap which corsses over to the right hip of the body and is held in the right hand. A bag appears to be visible slightly below and behind the right hip, attached to the strap. Classical in style. A sketch model of David, one of three Old Testament figures proposed by Alfred Stevens for the decoration of the dome in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London (it was intended to go in one of the niches round the Whispering Gallery beneath the great dome). Between 1862 and 1865 Steven’s was commissioned to produce designs for the proposed redecoration of St Paul’s, a project that did not in the end, come to fruition. See this version in the V&A: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O313495/davidsketch-model-alfred-stevens/