Style Other / Ref.15976

After Philippe MAGNIER, after the antique, The Wrestlers

This bronze was made after the antique The Wrestlers by Philippe Magnier (1648-1715) between 1884 and 1888, based on a plaster cast from the antique preserved in the Uffizi Gallery, in Florence.

It depicts two wrestlers or pancratiasts in action: one holds his opponent on the ground using his legs, while twisting his arm with one hand; the other, with his body folded over to the extreme, tries to resist the pressure exerted on him by his opponent; his face reveals effort and suffering, while maintaining classical perfection of features. The bulging muscles of the fighters demonstrate a precise study of human anatomy by the artist and a desire to accurately represent the sport, starting from Antiquity.

The antique sculpture The Wrestlers, probably inspired by a now-lost Greek bronze, was discovered near Rome in 1583. It reminds us that pankration is a Greek combat sport, practiced during the ancient Olympic Games, which allowed the opponents great freedom in their attacks. This sport was practiced nude, as shown in this representation.

In the 1680s, at a time when copies of antiques and modern commissions populated the king’s groves, a marble statue after the antique was commissioned by the royal administration from Philippe Magnier for the gardens of Versailles. The sculpture was placed in the park of the Château de Marly in the 1690s, where it remained until the Revolution.

Numerous bronze casts were executed from Magnier’s marble in France in the 19^th century. This medium, which gives an enhanced naturalistic impression compared to white marble, highlights the athletes' musculature.

This bronze is thus emblematic of the enthusiasm generated by this representation of two wrestlers from its rediscovery during the Renaissance until the 19^th century.