AFTER BERTEL THORVALDSEN (DANISH, 1770-1844): A SECOND HALF 19TH CENTURY WHITE MARBLE FIGURE OF GANYMEDE OFFERING THE CUP
the youth crouching on his cloak and holding an amphora and a circular cup of nectar, nude except for his Phrygian cap, on an integral rectangular base, together with a later rectangular plinth,
88cm high x 73cm wide (restored)

Provenance: The private collection of a British sculptor.

Thorvaldsen is widely considered to be one of the most important and influential sculptors of the early 19th century, comparable only to Antonio Canova in terms of his significant within the Neo-Classical movement, he produced works for the Pope, Napoleon and the royal families of Europe. His sculptures now feature in many of the major museums of art in the world such as the Louvre in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin, and of course in the Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen.
Thorvaldsen produced five sculptures of Ganymede, who according to myth was the most beautiful of mortals and was carried away by Jupiter’s eagle to be cup bearer to the gods, replacing Hebe who had accidentally spilled the nectar that made the gods immortal. His first depiction of Ganymede was commissioned in 1805 for Countess Woronoff, a rich Russian heiress and depicted the youth standing, wearing the phrygian cap that he wears in the present piece, and holding out his cup (No. A854 in the Thorvaldsen Museum). In 1816 he produced a variation on this theme, showing Ganymede pouring the nectar (commissioned by the Austrian consul at St. Petersburg, a version is not in the Hermitage). In 1817 Earl Gower commissioned the original version from which the present sculpture is derived, which depicted Ganymede offering a cup of nectar to Jupiter who has taken the form of an eagle (No. A44 Thorvaldsen Museum). Thorvaldsen’s composition is itself derived from an ancient Roman original, and an engraved antique carnelian gem depicts a very similar composition; Thorvaldsen’s referencing of an ancient work would have appealed to the patron as it demonstrated the artist’s and patron’s knowledge of antiquity and general erudition. Earl Gower was evidently very pleased with the marble and wrote in a letter to the sculptor in January 4th, 1830, announcing “l’heureuse arrivée de votre groupe du Ganymede et l’Aigle. . . . Chef d’oeuvre do vos mains. . .”

Literature: 'Thorvaldsen and His Ganymede and the Eagle', Anthony Morris Clark, online archive arkivet.thorvaldsensmuseum.dk, a re-publication of Anthony M. Clark: ‘Thorvaldsen and His Ganymede and the Eagle’, in: The Minneapolis Institute of Arts Bulletin, Volume LV, 1966, p. 25-35.