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Lot Essay
Guillaume Coustou (1677-1746) présente le 25 octobre 1704 son morceau de réception à l’Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, une figure en marbre représentant Hercule sur le bûcher, aujourd’hui conservée au musée du Louvre (MR 1809). Ce sujet dramatique permet de montrer toute l’habileté du sculpteur par la volonté d’exprimer un sentiment violent, une expression torturée du visage, et de représenter un corps humain à la forte musculature déformée par la souffrance. La rugosité de l’écorce du bûcher de bois permet d’ancrer la tragédie dans le réel. Guillaume Coustou réussit à insuffler une émotion profonde à ce marbre, l’animant en observant la nature dans une vigueur de style très moderne, et en transcendant les modèles antiques. Une version en terre cuite est conservée au musée des beaux-arts de Rouen et présente certaines variantes par rapport au marbre, notamment dans la position des bras et du drapé. Le château de Löwenburg au parc Willelmshöhe à Cassel en Allemagne conserve deux exemplaires en bronze d’Hercule et Didon sur le bûcher très similaires aux nôtres. Selon Weihrauch (loc. cit.), Coustou aurait pu réaliser une réduction en bronze d’Hercule après la présentation de son morceau de réception en marbre à l’Académie et y aurait alors ajouté la figure de Didon comme pendant. L’Hercule en bronze de Cassel et le nôtre présentent des variantes par rapport au modèle en marbre dans la position générale du corps, des jambes et du drapé.
On October 25, 1704, Guillaume Coustou (1677-1746) presented his reception piece to the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture—a marble figuring representing Hercules at the stake, now in the collection of the Louvre Museum (MR 1809). This dramatic subject permitted the sculptor to demonstrate his great dexterity and skill through the passionate manifestation of a violent emotion, the tortured expression of the face, and the representation of a muscular human body deformed by suffering. The coarseness of the bark on the wood stake anchors the tragedy in reality. Guillaume Coustou succeeded in bringing a profound emotion to life in this marble, representing nature with in a vigorous modern style, ultimately transcending Antique models. A terracotta version, now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rouen, varies slightly from the marble, notably the position of the arms and the drapery. The Löwenburg Castle in Willelmshöhe Park, Kassel, Germany has two bronze examples of Hercules and Dido at the stake that are very similar to that depicted in the present lot. According to Weihrauch (loc. cit.), Coustou could have realized a bronze casting of Hercules after he submitted his presentation piece where he then could have added the figure of Dido as the pendant. The bronze Hercules in Kassel and the present lot vary from the marble in the general position of the bodies, legs, and drapery compared to the marble.
On October 25, 1704, Guillaume Coustou (1677-1746) presented his reception piece to the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture—a marble figuring representing Hercules at the stake, now in the collection of the Louvre Museum (MR 1809). This dramatic subject permitted the sculptor to demonstrate his great dexterity and skill through the passionate manifestation of a violent emotion, the tortured expression of the face, and the representation of a muscular human body deformed by suffering. The coarseness of the bark on the wood stake anchors the tragedy in reality. Guillaume Coustou succeeded in bringing a profound emotion to life in this marble, representing nature with in a vigorous modern style, ultimately transcending Antique models. A terracotta version, now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rouen, varies slightly from the marble, notably the position of the arms and the drapery. The Löwenburg Castle in Willelmshöhe Park, Kassel, Germany has two bronze examples of Hercules and Dido at the stake that are very similar to that depicted in the present lot. According to Weihrauch (loc. cit.), Coustou could have realized a bronze casting of Hercules after he submitted his presentation piece where he then could have added the figure of Dido as the pendant. The bronze Hercules in Kassel and the present lot vary from the marble in the general position of the bodies, legs, and drapery compared to the marble.