| Artist | |
|---|---|
| Culture | Italian |
| Date | mid-16th century |
| Object type | sculpture |
| Medium, technique | bronze |
| Dimensions | 42 × 17 × 13 cm |
| Inventory number | 5309 |
| Collection | Sculptures |
| On view | Museum of Fine Arts, Ground Floor, Baroque Hall |
The small bronze depicts the mythological hero Meleager, who killed the boar of Caledonia, with his hunting dog on his right. The composition follows an antique model: the marble statue of Meleager with his dog and the head of a wild boar, exhibited in the Vatican Museum since 1546, is based on the original bronze statue made by the Greek sculptor Scopas and was regarded as one of the most beautiful classical sculptures in Rome, an engraving was even made of the piece in 1555. The statue exhibited in Budapest is a copy of the original without the head of the wild boar resting on the tree trunk but faithfully followingthe posture of the figures. Meleager’s left arm – presumably consciously following the model – is missing, unlike other early Renaissance copies where the figure’s forearm was reconstructed.
Petrovics, Elek – Meller, Simon, Ferenczy István bronzgyűjteményének kiállítása, Országos Magyar Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest, 1917, p. 12.
Balogh, Jolán, Katalog der ausländischen Bildwerke des Museums der bildenden Künste in Budapest, IV – XVIII. Jahrhundert: 1. Textband Bd. 1, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1975, p. 142-143., no. 180.
This record is subject to revision due to ongoing research.
