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Lot Essay
The present bronze is based on the signed original marble by Pierre Lepautre (d.1744) completed for the gardens at Marly in 1716, and subsequently moved to the Tuilleries in 1718 (illus. F.Souchal, French Sculptors of the 17th and 18th centurys: The reign of Louis XIV, London, 1981, vol.II, p.377, no.9.
The legend: Aeneas, son of Anchises and Aphrodite, married Creusa, daughter of King Priam of Troy. His services were therefore required in the defence of Troy against the Achaeans, but his reverence and honouring of the gods, particularly Apollo and Aphrodite, exempted him from the fate of the other Trojans in the destruction of Troy. Before the final fall of the city Aeneas, having received a warning from Aphrodite fled with his father Anchises, the blind seer, and his son, Ascanius. Anchises took care to bring away the sacred images of the gods, (as is portrayed in this group), thus ensuring the continuing favour of the gods.
The legend: Aeneas, son of Anchises and Aphrodite, married Creusa, daughter of King Priam of Troy. His services were therefore required in the defence of Troy against the Achaeans, but his reverence and honouring of the gods, particularly Apollo and Aphrodite, exempted him from the fate of the other Trojans in the destruction of Troy. Before the final fall of the city Aeneas, having received a warning from Aphrodite fled with his father Anchises, the blind seer, and his son, Ascanius. Anchises took care to bring away the sacred images of the gods, (as is portrayed in this group), thus ensuring the continuing favour of the gods.