.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Giovanni Maria Benzoni (1809-1873) was a pupil of Fabri and student at the Academy of the Saint Luc in Rome. He was profoundly inspired by Antonio Canova. A favoured sculptor of Pope Pius IX, Benzoni received commissions from many Russian aristocratic families. He also executed architectural sculptures for the Imperial Theatre, St Petersburg, exhibited at the Great Exhibitions and represented the Vatican at the Antwerp International Exhibition.
Achilles, in Greek 'with beautiful lips', is the great hero of the Iliad, the son of Peleus, King of the Myrmidons. The theme of the Iliad is the Wrath of Achilles and how he assuaged it by slaying Hector, the Trojan commander. Penthesilea is, in the post-Homeric legends, the Queen of the Amazons who fought for Troy. She was slain by Achilles.
Achilles, in Greek 'with beautiful lips', is the great hero of the Iliad, the son of Peleus, King of the Myrmidons. The theme of the Iliad is the Wrath of Achilles and how he assuaged it by slaying Hector, the Trojan commander. Penthesilea is, in the post-Homeric legends, the Queen of the Amazons who fought for Troy. She was slain by Achilles.