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Lot Essay
This breathtaking and vibrant model of Milo de Croton perfectly captures the spirit of the tortured hero, while the media, most certainly molded directly by the great artist's hand allows for a certain sense of both freshness and intimacy that closes the gap between the seventeenth century, when the sculpture was realized, and the now.
Pierre Puget was one of the greatest artists of 17th century France, working as a sculptor, painter and architect. Having trained in Italy, he was unusual among his peers in that he worked almost exclusively away from the French court, mainly in Marseilles, the town of his birth, and Toulon. In 1670 he obtained a commission for his two most famous works: Perseus and Andromeda (1675-1684) and Milo of Crotona (1672-1683), for which the present lot is a model. Both were initially placed by Louis XIV in the honored entrance of the Green Carpet at Versailles.
Now housed in the Louvre, the full marble model of Milon de Crotone depicts Milo, a Greek athlete and winner of several of the Olympic and Pythian games. In his old age, he wished to test his strength by splitting a tree trunk that he found already cleft. However his hand got caught in the stump where he was ultimately left to be devoured by wolves.
Pierre Puget was one of the greatest artists of 17th century France, working as a sculptor, painter and architect. Having trained in Italy, he was unusual among his peers in that he worked almost exclusively away from the French court, mainly in Marseilles, the town of his birth, and Toulon. In 1670 he obtained a commission for his two most famous works: Perseus and Andromeda (1675-1684) and Milo of Crotona (1672-1683), for which the present lot is a model. Both were initially placed by Louis XIV in the honored entrance of the Green Carpet at Versailles.
Now housed in the Louvre, the full marble model of Milon de Crotone depicts Milo, a Greek athlete and winner of several of the Olympic and Pythian games. In his old age, he wished to test his strength by splitting a tree trunk that he found already cleft. However his hand got caught in the stump where he was ultimately left to be devoured by wolves.