Jupiter

Despite this statuette's small size, Jupiter, the supreme Roman god and ruler of Olympus, stands powerful and tall, ready to hurl his punishing thunderbolts. As he raises his arm, his toga falls, revealing clearly defined musculature on his chest and protruding veins on his arms. At his side stands an eagle, the attribute that identifies the god. Based on several well-known antique sculptures, the figure conforms to the *thundering Jupiter* type. The artist has chosen to depict him just before he releases his fatal thunderbolts onto wrongdoers: the anticipation of his raised right arm adds tension to the stable figure. *Jupiter* may have belonged to a group of figures of Roman gods and goddesses that was designed by the sculptor Michel Anguier for display in an aristocratic home.