Not currently on display at the V&A

Hercules and Antaeus

Figure Group
ca. 1850 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This large-scale group shows the Greek hero Hercules wrestling with the giant Antaeus, who gained his strength from contact with the earth. Hercules is therefore shown struggling with Antaeus and lifting him from the ground to weaken and overcome him. This subject was a popular one from the renaissance onwards. This group is probably derived from a seventeenth-century French example, although it is a later cast.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleHercules and Antaeus (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Cast bronze
Brief description
Group, bronze, Hercules and Antaeus, France, ca. 1850
Physical description
Bronze group, two struggling male figures.
Dimensions
  • Height: 148cm
  • Weight: 169.5kg
Credit line
Bequeathed by Norman Bloom, in memory of Mrs Florence Bloom
Object history
Given by Norman Bloom and the Bloom Family Trust South Africa in memory of Mrs Florence Bloom, in 2003, together with A.2, 4 & 5-2003.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This large-scale group shows the Greek hero Hercules wrestling with the giant Antaeus, who gained his strength from contact with the earth. Hercules is therefore shown struggling with Antaeus and lifting him from the ground to weaken and overcome him. This subject was a popular one from the renaissance onwards. This group is probably derived from a seventeenth-century French example, although it is a later cast.
Collection
Accession number
A.3-2003

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Record createdMay 14, 2003
Record URL
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