Hebe and the Eagle of Jupiter, c 1860
Bronze
30 1/2 inches tall
Signed: F. Rude (edge of self-base), Marked: THIEBAUT FRERES / FUMIERE ET C SUCC
artist
French born François Rude is best known for the Departure of the Volunteers, also known as La Marseillaise on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. His work often expressed patriotic themes, as well as the transition from neo-classicism to romanticism.
Description
François Rude referred to his Hebe and the Eagle of Jupiter as an “artistic testament.” In 1846, Rude’s home-town of Dijon requested he recreate a version of his Young Neopolitan Fisherboy to be placed as a public monument. Preferring not to repeat an older composition, Rude modeled Hebe and the Eagle of Jupiter in its place. By 1852 Rude had completed his plaster model and began to commence work on the large-scale marble.
provenance
Private collection, New Jersey
