Milo of Crotona Devoured by a Lion
(Baroque Europe )
Puget's marble version (9-feet-high, now in the Louvre, Paris), completed in 1682, was made for Louis XIV's gardens at Versailles. In 1688 a contract was signed for a smaller bronze reproduction.
The Greek athlete Milo was famous for his strength, but once when he tried to tear a tree apart, his hand got stuck, and he was devoured by wild animals.
If this composition had been designed to be cast in bronze, Puget would surely not have introduced the drapery which served as a structural support in the marble. This bronze was cast in parts (note the seams on Milo's thighs) and meticulously tooled with a punch in the mane and in Milo's beard.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
2007-2008 | Déjà Vu? The Repeating Image in Renaissance and Baroque Art. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
1999-2000 | Vive la France! French Treasures from the Middle Ages to Monet. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
1995 | The Allure of Bronze. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Geographies
France (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 25 5/16 in. (64.3 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
54.729