This sculpture is called La misère by Jean-Baptiste Hugues who was born in Marseille in modest circumstances. He studied sculpture in his hometown where he was a pupil of Antoine Bontoux (1805-1892) and then in Paris of Augustin Dumont (1801-1884) and Jean-Marie Bonnassieux (1810-1892). Jean-Baptiste Hugues won the second prize in the Prix de Rome in 1872 and in 1873. He won the Grand Prix de Rome for sculpture in 1875 with plaster bas-relief "Homer, accompanied by his young guide, sings his poems in a city of Greece." From 1876 to 1879 he was a resident at the Villa Medici in Rome from where he sends his first pieces at the Paris Salon. Awarded at the Salon several times, Jean-Baptiste Hugues triumph with "Oedipus at Colonus" in 1882 with a first class medal. He won a gold medal at the Universal Exhibitions of 1889 and 1900. In 1897, he became modeling professor at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and became a member of the Higher Education Council in 1905.

This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.