Pair of water-bearers

Studying under Feuchère and Pradier, Maillet won the grand prix de Rome in 1847. After remaining in Rome for 5 years, he made his debut at the Salon of 1853, then worked for several Paris churches, the Louvre, the Hôtel de Ville, and the Opéra. Along with his classically-trained contemporaries, Maillet's oeuvre was concerned primarily with Biblical and Antique themes. In 1859, he exhibited a major work in silver entitled Agrippine portant les cendres de Germamicus, a marble version of which was placed in Monceau park in Paris in 1893.