Ganymede thumbnail 1
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Grand Entrance, Stair P

Ganymede

Statue
ca. 1760 (made)
Artist/Maker
Coustou II, Guillaume (sculptor)
Place of origin
France (made)

The shepherd Ganymede, famous for his beauty, was abducted by the God Jupiter, taking the form of an eagle. Ganymede became cup-bearer to the gods. This myth, popular with French eighteenth-century artists, was largely known to them from the 'Metamorphoses' of the Roman poet, Ovid. The influence of sculpture of classical antiquity is clearly evident in this statue, even though the finish is no longer fine and smooth due to weathering.


Object details

Categories
Myths & Legends
Sculpture
Gender and Sexuality
Object type
Statue
TitleGanymede (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Marble
Marble
Brief description
Statue, marble, Ganymede, by Guillaume (II) Coustou, French, about 1760
Physical description
The youth stands with his weight on the left foot, the right knee slightly bent. In his right hand he holds a shallow cup. His left is placed affectionately on a rather undersized eagle, which had perched on the tree-trunk supporting the figure on the right. He bends his head as he gazes at the bird. Inscribed.
Dimensions
  • Height: 152.5cm
Marks and inscriptions
'GUILLAUME COUSTOU FILS' (Inscribed on the right side of the rectangular base.)
Object history
Bought from Christopher Gibbs Ltd., London, for £1,950, in 1964. Formerly in the Wallace Collection.
Subjects depicted
Cup
Eagle
Homoerotic
Ganymede
Summary
The shepherd Ganymede, famous for his beauty, was abducted by the God Jupiter, taking the form of an eagle. Ganymede became cup-bearer to the gods. This myth, popular with French eighteenth-century artists, was largely known to them from the 'Metamorphoses' of the Roman poet, Ovid. The influence of sculpture of classical antiquity is clearly evident in this statue, even though the finish is no longer fine and smooth due to weathering.
Bibliographic references
  • Cecil, R.A., "French Eighteenth-century Sculpture formerly in the Herford-Wallace Collection", in: Apollo LXXXI, No. 40, June 1965, p. 454 and fig. 4
  • Levey, M. Painting and Sculpture in France 1700-1789, New Haven, 1993, p. 246
  • Worley, Michael Preston, 'The Image of Ganymede in France, 1730-1820: The Survival of a Homoerotic Myth', in The Art Bulletin, Vol. 76, No. 4 (Dec 1994), pp.630-643
  • This object features in 'Out on Display: A selection of LGBTQ-related objects on display in the V&A', a booklet created by the V&A's LGBTQ Working Group. First developed and distributed to coincide with the 2014 Pride in London Parade, the guide was then expanded for the Queer and Now Friday Late that took place in February 2015.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.15-1964

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O312607/ganymede-statue-coustou-ii-guillaume/
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