Lot 29
A French 19th century patinated bronze group of Hercules fighting Achelous in the form of a bull after a model attributed to Giambologna (1529-1608) and Pietro Tacca (1577-1640)
9 July 2015, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond Street£5,000 - £8,000
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A French 19th century patinated bronze group of Hercules fighting Achelous in the form of a bull
after a model attributed to Giambologna (1529-1608) and Pietro Tacca (1577-1640)
depicting Hercules wrestling the bull to the ground, on an integral naturalistic bronze base, 62.5cm wide, 41cm deep, 56cm high (24 1/2in wide, 16in deep, 22in high).
depicting Hercules wrestling the bull to the ground, on an integral naturalistic bronze base, 62.5cm wide, 41cm deep, 56cm high (24 1/2in wide, 16in deep, 22in high).
Footnotes
Achelous was a river god and suitor of Deianira who battled with Hercules in the form of a bull. Hercules defeated him by breaking off his horn.
This bronze group is thought to be derived from a series of the Twelve Labours of Hercules originally created by Giambologna in silver in the 1570s and 1580s as part of a commission to decorate the Tribuna of the Grand Duke Francesco I de' Medici in Florence. Although the original six silver examples are all now lost, documents exist which show that Pietro Tacca, who inherited Giambologna's workshop in the Borgo Pinti, was working, himself, on a series of Labours to be cast in bronze between at least 1612 and 1633. On a larger scale than the original compositions, it is thought that the models executed by Tacca were based upon those created by Giambologna, but may also have included original compositions to complete the series. The popularity of the models ensured that examples entered some of the most prestigious collections; seven Labours, including an example of Hercules and Achelous were numbers 301 to 308 of the collection of Louis XIV.
