Le Faune dansant, Bronze sculpture in Jardin du Luxembourg, France

Le Faune dansant is a bronze sculpture in Jardin du Luxembourg that depicts a mythological figure poised on an inflated wineskin. Musical instruments and grapevines surround the figure, emphasizing its connection to ancient wine and celebration themes.

Eugène-Louis Lequesne modelled the faun while a pensioner at the Villa Medici in Rome, copying the Barberini Faun and studying the antique Dancing Faun found at Pompeii in Naples. He showed the plaster at the 1850–51 Salon and won the first sculpture medal; the bronze, cast by Eck et Durand, followed at the 1852 Salon. The State acquired it, showed it at the 1855 Universal Exhibition where Lequesne received the grand prize and the Légion d'honneur, then placed it in the Jardin du Luxembourg.

Lequesne based his faun on an antique Dancing Faun he had seen at the Naples archaeological museum, and the bronze was cast by Eck et Durand. Reduced bronze editions made for bourgeois interiors were fitted with an ivy belt for modesty, a detail worth looking for in the figure's treatment.

The sculpture is positioned within a maintained garden bed near Place Edmond-Rostand and is easily accessible. Accessible pathways allow visitors of all mobility needs to view the work from different angles and distances.

Lequesne saw the antique Dancing Faun found at Pompeii in the Naples archaeological museum and drew on it after copying the Barberini Faun in Rome. Bronze reductions of his figure were made for bourgeois interiors and, for modesty, wore an ivy belt.