Hercules and Antaeus
About the sculpture
Hercules and Antaeus is an early 16th-century bronze sculpture by Pier Jacopo di Antonio Alari-Bonacolsi. The Gonzaga family court sculptor based this group on a classical marble of Hercules and Antaeus which is now in the Pitti Palace in Florence. The statue was given to the Victoria and Albert Museum by Walter Leo Hildburgh in 1956.
In the museum's words
Antico was court sculptor to the Gonzaga family, rulers of Mantua. He trained as a goldsmith and developed a sophisticated method of reproducing bronzes. As his name suggests, Antico was inspired by works from antiquity. He based this group on a classical marble of Hercules and Antaeus now in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Particulars
- Accession number
- A.37-1956
