Images(13)

Nessus and Deianira

Maker Giambologna (Flemish, 1529 - 1608)

Collections

European Sculpture Highlights

ClassificationsSCULPTURE

Dateca. 1575

Mediumbronze

Dimensions16 5/16 x 12 1/2 in. (41.5 x 31.8 cm.) base: 5 7/8 x 4 1/8 in. (14.9 x 10.5 cm.)

DescriptionThis bronze sculpture portrays the mythological centaur Nessus attempting to abduct Deianira, a princess in Greek mythology. Deianira was also the wife of Heracles, one of the greatest Greek heroes.

SignedSigned by the artist on the centaur’s headband.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. The Arabella D. Huntington Memorial Art Collection.

Status

On view

Label TextThis rare, signed Nessus and Deianira (IOA BOLONGIE on the centaur’s headband), with its multitude of sinuous lines and balanced tensions—Deianira’s outstretched arm, the centaur’s straining hooves—reveals the artist’s skill at combining drama and dynamism. Giambologna balances this energetic composition—which seems to propel forward, leaving behind fluttering drapery—on the centaur’s hind legs, making the sculpture a great achievement, technically as well as visually.

Object number17.13