Although he won several awards for his cast and gilded bronze works, Gérard-Jean Galle never prospered. Born into a family of casters and gilders, he probably received his training in the workshop of his father, Claude Galle, also a bronze caster, who produced objects for Marie-Antoinette. Upon the death of his father in 1815, Galle took over the family workshop. During this period of political up
