''The Abduction of Hippodamia'', (french: L'Enlèvement d'Hippodamie) is a work by the 19th-century French sculptor

Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (born Albert-Ernest Carrier de Belleuse; 12 June 1824 – 4 June 1887) was a French sculptor. He was one of the founding members of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, and was made an officer of the Legion of H ...

, modeled c. 1877 and cast thereafter. The subject is from

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

: During the wedding of Hippodamia and

Pirithous Pirithous (; grc-gre, Πειρίθοος or , derived from ; also transliterated as Perithous), in Greek mythology, was the King of the Lapiths of Larissa in Thessaly, as well as best friend to Theseus. Biography Pirithous was a son of "h ...

, the barbaric

centaurs A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...

who had been invited became wildly intoxicated, attacking the other guests and even the hosts. The centaur

Eurytus Eurytus, Eurytos (; Ancient Greek: Εὔρυτος) or Erytus (Ἔρυτος) is the name of several characters in Greek mythology, and of at least one historical figure. Mythological *Eurytus, one of the Giants, sons of Gaia, killed by Dionysus ...

attempted to carry off the bride, and a battle between the humans and the centaurs ensued. An earlier similar work, cast in silver, was commissioned by the

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, amo ...

to be a trophy at the

Bois de Boulogne The Bois de Boulogne (, "Boulogne woodland") is a large public park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. The land was ceded to the city of Paris by t ...

horse races in 1874. Because the trophy was contracted to be unique, the work was remodeled with slight changes to the positioning of Hippodamia and the forcefulness of the centaur. The sculpture's theme of struggle between the rational and the bestial, expressed in a mythological setting, was a popular one and not unusual in 19th-century European art. Its execution sets it apart, however, and it is by some considered one of the finest examples of its kind in the late 19th century. It is frequently supposed that

Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

, who was associated with Carrier-Belleuse's studio in the 1870s, contributed to the modeling; the general opinion is that, while the subject matter and the lines of Hippodamia exemplify Carrier-Belleuse's style, the expression and musculature of the centaur suggest Rodin.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abduction of Hippodameia, The Neoclassical sculptures