Italian or French, circa 1700

With Andrew Ciehanowiecki Ltd., London, 23 March 1988

This striking bronze represents one of numerous models from the 17th and 18th centuries which represent Prometheus recoiling from Zeus’ eagle, possibly taking inspiration from a celebrated Michelangelo drawing The Punishment of Tityus, now in the Royal Collection (inv. no. 912771). Similar compositions in bronze were conceived by François Lespignola (1644-1705) for his Hercules Freeing Prometheus (see cast in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inv. no. BK-2008-93) and Giambattista Foggini (1652-1725) for his Mercury Binding Prometheus (Victoria and Albert Museum, inv. no. A.3-1967), as well as by Philippe Bertrand (1663-1724), François Dumont (1687-1726) and Guillaume Evrard (1709-1793). The present model is unique in its explicit depiction of the titan’s liver being torn from his body, while Prometheus’ screaming face and head thrown backward suggest the sculptor may have been inspired by Stefano Maderno’s (circa 1576-1636) Hercules and Antaeus. The figure rests on a 19th-century bronze base which is signed by leading Parisian founders de Braux.

A bronze of the same model is held in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, inv. no. 54.618, where it is catalogued as Italian, Rome or Florence, circa 1650-1680. Like the present bronze, it also rests on a 19th-century base.