Jason and the Golden Fleece, by Bertel Thorvaldsen (Jason et la Toison d'Or)

This beautiful Jason with the Golden Fleece, male hero from the Greek mythology, was sculpted by Bertel Thorvaldsen, a Danish sculptor mentioned before in this blog for his Ganymède and his Achille.

This sculpture is considered by many as the masterpiece of Thorvaldsen’s work. It was initially done in clay, life size, in 1802, to show his sculpting ability to the Copenhagen Academy. The nude aspect of the sculpture may have been inspired by the Apollo Belvedere, sculpture that we mentioned previously in this blog as part of the male art in the Vatican.

Bertel Thorvaldsen, from Denmark, is born in 1770, and died in 1844. He spent a major part of his life in Italy (Rome), and would be in the line of the best neoclassicists sculptors, like the Italian Antonio Canova. Canova who apparently was impressed by the Jason sculpture (see 19th century art website in the sources).

Painting of Bertel Thorvaldsen by Rudolf Suhrlandt - 1810 - detail

Drawing of Thorvalden 'Jason' sculpture, by Ferdinando Mori - 1809

Thorvaldsen received a commission from Thomas Hope, a British art lover, to sculpt his Jason in marble, larger than the clay model, and this sculpture of 242 cm (95 inches) will take 25 years to be achieved. The long and exciting story of it can be read in detail here. The marble sculpture was purchased by the Thorvaldsen Museum in 1917, at an auction following Hope's death.

The only known sketch of Jason done by Thorvaldsen - c.1800-1802

Below is a lithograph, dated 1872, made by Thorvald Jensen, showing Thomas Hope arriving in Thorvaldsen' studio to buy Jason with the Golden Fleece.

For those interested in the Greek mythology of Jason's legend: ''Jason was a Greek mythological prince whose wicked uncle Pelias had unjustly taken power from Jason’s father, King Aison. To win back the throne, Jason needed to obtain the Golden Fleece, which was guarded by a dangerous dragon in a far-off land. Jason sailed off with his men to find it, and after surviving numerous dangers and challenges, the brave young man and his comrades finally found the Fleece; this sculpture depicts the proud Jason at the moment where, with the Fleece draped over his arm, he is going down to the ship that will return him to his fatherland.
The Fleece was magical, and guaranteed fertility and wealth to the land that possessed it – so by obtaining it, Jason established that he was not only a prince in name, but indeed, equipped to rule his land in the best possible way. The notion that a person’s station in society is not determined by inherited privileges, but by his or her human abilities, is a fundamental democratic principle. As is well known, classical Greece was the cradle of democracy, and Thorvaldsen’s Jason made its appearance on the artistic scene at precisely the moment when pro-democracy sentiment was making a powerful impact in Europe."

The Copenhagen Thorvaldsen Museum :

As published in the Anderson guide in 1887

The Library

The Danish Post Office decided to create the first Danish Art Stamp with his name, to celebrate his return to Denmark, and his nomination as Citizen of Honour in Copenhagen.

• Denmark 1938. The Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, after a painting by C.W. Eckersberg.
• Denmark 1938. Sculpture by Bertel Thorvaldsen, "Jason with the Golden Fleece".  

 

Sources:
Wikipedia
The Thorvaldsen Museum
The Hope Commission story


19th century art website 

The weight of Oneself - Elmgreen & Dragset

What a great sculpture, and wonderful title!
It shows at first glance a very classic medium, marble, and a traditional scene or subject, with apparently a nude hero, but it is not so classic, and it is not a hero in the old meaning!

Photo Carlos Martin

Elmgreen & Dragset said that they 'use the language of classical sculpture in order to play with it'. During an interview, the artists explained : 'Many details will contribute to making our sculpture contemporary: the subject, the idea that this sculpture is evocative of the notion of looking after oneself, in different ways. The material used, as well as its scale will make it also very contemporary. The fact that it isn’t a sculpture on a human scale will emphasize its depth.'
Indeed they used powder marble, which is solidified. And the size or height is out of ordinary, with 2m70.

Photo Dufy

Regarding the sculpture title, they added that 'it will be representative of our contemporary culture. The work will not be celebrating a hero, nor someone pursuing a goal, or attempting to accomplish something. This will be the story of someone who is trying to save himself.'.

Photo Jacques Leone

Himself ? Yes, because if you look closely, you will see that the two faces (the one from the man standing, and the one from the dead man are the same. Spectators can wonder the various possible meanings of it. Souvenirs ? Mythology ? Philosophy ? Own responsibility ? Justice ?  Well, the sculpture is located just in front of the Palais de Justice !

Photo Terry Cooper

The two artists who created this sculpture are working together since 20 years, in Berlin, Germany, but one, Michael Elmgreen, was born in 1961 in Copenhagen (Denmark), and the other, Ingar Dragset, was born in 1968 in Trondheim (Norway).

Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset by Henridraw

They often display their pieces in public space. In this case, the sculpture is almost on the water, facing the Palais de Justice in Lyon, and this location may not be a coincidence.

Photo Jan Bucholtz

Sources and more information:
Wikipedia 
Arttube video interview
Interview (written)

Video (the weight of Oneself)

Adam... by Tullio Lombardo : a stunning restoration project

Today's technology can do miracles to repair broken art pieces, like what happened to the Italian Renaissance masterpiece 'Adam' from Tullio Lombardo, in 2002. Indeed the wood base of the sculpture broke one night, and the sculpture exploded in 28 large pieces together with hundreds of smaller ones. It took 12 years to restore this life-size marble sculpture.

Tullio Lombardo (1455-1532) sculpted this Adam, with his father and brother, as part of the Venetian Doge Andrea Verdamin's tomb, around 1490. The Lombardo family was famous and sculpted several chrches and tombs.

A new sculpture gallery was created to unveil the restoration result, and to display other Venetian and Northern Italy sculptures.                             

Various videos (see below) show us the complex techniques used by the Metropolitan Museum experts to master that restoration project, and the time-lapse video is impressive!

Other sources:
www.metmuseum.org
thecultureconcept.com

Mitoraj

Igor Mitoraj died this month (the 6th) in Paris at the age of 70. I always had an interest in his sculptures. Below are some of his works, often linked to the beauty and sometimes fragile aspect of the male face and body.

'Hermanos' from Mitoraj - displayed in Agrigento

Igor Mitoraj, of Polish origin, was born in 1944 in Germany, and moved to France at the age of 24. He then spent 4 years in Mexico, as he had a strong interest in Precolombian arts, and started to sculpt at that time. Back in Europe, he will go often to Italy from 1979, starting to sculpt marble, while still doing bronze and clay sculptures. In 1983, he opens his studio at Pietrasanta, famous for his marble quarries and workshops.

It is amazing to see that many of his giant works fit perfectly both in a very contemporary surrounding like the French Paris area of La Defense, or among old historical sites like the Valley of Temples in Agrigento (Sicilia). A part of eternity...

'Tindaro' by Mitoraj - 1997 - La Defense - Paris

'Icaro caduto' or 'Fallen Icarus' bronze by Mitoraj

Photo by Fernando Castilla

Photo by Giovanni Ricci Novara

'Angelo / Visita a Maria' marble by Mitoraj - Museo del Vaticano

'Angelo' bronze by Mitoraj - 2006 - Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli - Roma

'Christ' bronze by Mitoraj - 2006 - Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli - Roma

 

'Torso' bronze by Mitoraj

 

 

'Torso d'Icaro' bronze by Mitoraj - photo by Fernando Castilla

 

 

'Cacciatori di Adriano' bronze by Mitoraj - 2000

 In 2002, he displayed some of his sculptures at the Valley of Temples in Agrigento (Sicilia - Italy). This can be seen in this video.