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Lot Essay
These vigorous representations of the brothers Boreas and Zephyr give the impression of movement, strength and lightness and appear unbalanced but are actually rigorously composed structures with delicate and sensitive modeling.
The present version of abduction of Oreithya by Boreus recalls the marble sculpture symbolizing Air from the series of the Four Elements commissioned in 1674 for the garden at Versailles and executed by Gaspard Marsy and Anselme Flamen, both are now in the Louvre. Inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphosis, the north wind, Boreas, abducted the Athenian princess Orithyia while battling another wind, probably the god Zephyr, which is a female figure in the present version.
Zephyr, the god of the western wind, is represented carrying Psyche from the rock to Eros's abode. The most famous representation of this scene is by Henri-Joseph Rutxhiel, a student of Houdon, now in the Louvre. The female figure could also represent Zephyr's wife Flora, which he abducted to give her the kingdom of flowers.
The present version of abduction of Oreithya by Boreus recalls the marble sculpture symbolizing Air from the series of the Four Elements commissioned in 1674 for the garden at Versailles and executed by Gaspard Marsy and Anselme Flamen, both are now in the Louvre. Inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphosis, the north wind, Boreas, abducted the Athenian princess Orithyia while battling another wind, probably the god Zephyr, which is a female figure in the present version.
Zephyr, the god of the western wind, is represented carrying Psyche from the rock to Eros's abode. The most famous representation of this scene is by Henri-Joseph Rutxhiel, a student of Houdon, now in the Louvre. The female figure could also represent Zephyr's wife Flora, which he abducted to give her the kingdom of flowers.