A carved wooden figure of Marsyas

AFTER PIERRE LEGROS II, 18TH CENTURY

Details

A carved wooden figure of Marsyas
After Pierre Legros II, 18th century
On an integrally carved naturalistic plinth which has been leaded on the underside.
Cracks; repairs.
25¾ in. (65.4 cm.) high

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
N. Penny, The Classical Tradition and the Garden Ornament, Art History, V, 1982, pp. 243-246.
M. Baker, 'That most rare Master Monsù Le Gros and his Marsyas', Burlington Magazine, CXXVII, 1985, pp. 702-707.
F. Souchal, French Sculptors of the 17th and 18th centuries - The Reign of Louis XIV, Supplement, London, 1993, pp. 148-149, no. 42.

Lot Essay

Pierre Legros II's Marsyas, the marble original of which has been recently identified in a British private collection, was one of the most admired statues of the entire eighteenth century (Penny, Baker, Souchal, locs. cit.). Originally paired with a figure of Apollo ordering the flaying of the satyr (Souchal, op. cit., no. 55), it was copied in marble, bronze, and wood, with and without its companion piece.

More from Sculpture

View All