FERDINANDO ANDREINI (ITALIAN, 1843-1922)

Marguerite, the innocent and beautiful heroine from Charles Gounod's 1859 Faust, and one of opera's best-known soprano roles, was first played by Adelina Patti at Covent Garden in 1864. Alongside Giovanni Mario's Faust and Jean-Baptiste Faure's Mephistopheles, Patti gave one of her most memorable performances, and her portrayal of Marguerite inspired many sculptors to recreate her image in marble and in bronze, most commonly as she appears in a vision conjured by Mephistopheles. The aged Faust, seeing her thus, enters into a devilish conspiracy whereby he trades his soul for renewed youth and the 'flower' of Marguerite, symbolized here by the delicate daisy she holds in her left hand.