Louis de Silvestre (Sceaux 1675-1760 Paris)

Prometheus fashioning man from clay in the presence of Minerva

Details

Louis de Silvestre (Sceaux 1675-1760 Paris)
Prometheus fashioning man from clay in the presence of Minerva
oil on panel
18¾ x 12¾in. (47.5 x 32.5cm.)

Literature

X. Salmon, in the catalogue of the exhibition Louis de Silvestre (1675-1760) un peintre français à la cour de Dresde, Château de Versailles, 7 October-2 November 1997, p. 16, fig. 1, illustrated.

Lot Essay

The present painting is a preparatory sketch for the artist's reception piece for the Académie Royale in 1702, now in the collection of the Musée Fabre, Montpellier. Prometheus is depicted at the moment when, with the help of Minerva, he brings to life the first man fashioned from clay. In the final work the artist changed the positions of the three figures, placing the life-sized statue at the far right of the composition instead of between Minerva and Prometheus.

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