French, Early 18th Century

Sotheby's Paris, 16 April 2013, lot 64;

Where acquired by Aso O. Tavitian.

The story of Hippomenes and Atalanta originates from Ovid's Metamorphoses (X, 681-704). According to the epic poem, Hippomenes fell in love with the huntress Atalanta and wanted to take her as his bride. Although she had no desire to wed and knowing no one could defeat her in a foot race, Atalanta declared that she would marry the man who could outrun her and stab with a spear those who could not. Hippomenes joined the competition and, in an attempt to distract Atalanta, dropped three golden apples on the track. His ruse worked when Atalanta stopped to pick up the fruit, allowing Hippomenes to win the race, and therefore, her hand in marriage.

In 1704 Louis XIV commissioned two pairs of sculptures for the gardens of the Château de Marly: Daphne and Apollo and Hippomenes and Atalanta, and together they were known as the Four Runners. The sculptor Guillaume Coustou was tasked with creating Hippomenes and Pierre Lepautre carved Atalanta, the latter of which was a copy of an antique marble. The present pair of bronzes are based on the 18th century marbles, now in the Louvre, Paris (acc. no. MR 1810 and MR 1804).

RELATED LITERATURE

G. Bresc-Bautier, Sculptures des jardins du Louvre, du Carrousel et des Tuileries, Paris 1986, p.271-273;

F. Souchal, French Sculptors of the 17th and 18th centuries. The reign of Louis XIV, vol. I, p.136, no. 36 and vol.II, p 378-379, no. 12.