Le Supplice De Dircé - Important Mythological Group In Bronze, Dated 1927

Important bronze sculpted group with shaded brown patina, dated 1927 and bearing a barely legible signature on the terrace.

This spectacular composition takes up the famous mythological episode of Dircé's torment, a subject made famous since antiquity by the monumental Farnese Bull preserved in the Archaeological Museum of Naples.

The artist here delivers a personal and highly decorative interpretation of the myth. The composition features Dircé nude, strapped to the back of the bull launched into a violent movement, while one of Antiope's sons restrains the animal by the horns.

The male figure, dressed as a woman, is shown in the background.

The male figure, dressed in a short antique tunic animated by a floating drapery, brings great dramatic tension to the whole and accentuates the group's momentum.

The sculptural construction is particularly successful: the whole develops a very fluid horizontal movement, animated by the intersecting tensions of the bull's body, the male figure and the reclining female nude.

The contrast between the violence of the mythological subject and the sensual elegance of Dircé's body creates a work of real visual power.

In Greek mythology, Dircé, wife of King Lycos of Thebes, persecuted Antiope out of jealousy.

Antiope's sons, Amphion and Zéthos, avenged their mother by tying Dircé to a wild bull that dragged her to her death.

Very fine quality of casting and chasing.

The rich brown patina beautifully highlights the volumes and anatomical details.

A large, particularly decorative mythological bronze, uncommon in both subject and interpretation.

Dimensions:

Length: 61 cm

Width: 18 cm

Height: 28 cm

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