Antique sculpture "Lion". Copper, electroplating technique. Craftsman: Giacomo (Jacques) Merculiano (1889-1935). France, XX century

Giacomo Merculiano studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, a university-level institute dedicated to higher education. Initially, the Academy of Arts was called the Royal Academy of Decor, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Europe, which produced many artists, thus becoming the concentration of the Neapolitan artists of the 19th century.

Jacques Merculiano, while still studying, received recognition for a molded sculpture called "Aspiration", exhibited at the Neapolitan art exhibition. In 1889, at the same exhibition, he presented a bronze work entitled Leitmotif. He also designed a sculpture for the tombstone of Count Giulio di Conversano in Camposanto di Napoli. Although Merculiano was also a painter, sculpture was the main element in his work. By 1900, while living in Paris, he was focusing on animalism. From 1914 he exhibited at the Paris Salon.