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This is a copy of the marble original (1863-66) in the Cour Carré of the Louvre, Paris.
In the middle years of the nineteenth century, scholars at the Académie de France had rather forgotten about the road to Tuscany. They resumed the habit of going there to work after Paul Dubois, who spent from 1859 to 1863 in Italy at his own expense had made it fashionable once more. Visitors to the 1863 Salon were surprised to discover the plaster version of Narcissus, in which they did not see the usual Neoclassical models but were confronted with a study from life, closely observed without seeking to be realist. Critics could not praise the work too highly. Some particularly liked the way in which, though drawing his inspiration from the Florentine statuary of the Quattrocento, the artist had primarily looked for beauty. The reception accorded to the work by public and critics was confirmed by an official commission to carve Narcissus in marble for the Louvre's Cour Carrée and subsequently to produce a replica, also in marble for the Musée du Luxembourg.
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