François Dumont (c. 1687-1726)
Prometheus bound signed & dated 1710
Bronze | 83.0 x 80.0 x 55.0 cm (whole object) | RCIN 72636
Green Drawing Room, Windsor Castle
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A bronze group of naked Prometheus seated and chained to a rock partially covered with draperies, with his right hand stretched, being pecked by an eagle and with a flaming torch lying below.
Prometheus, son of the titan Iapetus, stole fire from heaven for man (symbolised by the flaming torch) and was condemned by Zeus to be chained to a rock on Mount Caucasus and to have his liver devoured by an eagle during the daytime, which was renewed each succeeding night. Dumont's Prometheus, which is among his finest works, ultimately derives from Michelangelo's figure of Adam in the Sistine Chapel.
Dumont exhibited a Prometheus group, probably in marble, in the Paris Salon of 1725. Four in plaster were listed in the inventory of his possessions drawn up after his death.
Adapted from Carlton House: The Pase Glories of George IV's Palace exhibition catalogue at Queen's Galleries, 1991-2.Provenance
Purchased in Paris for the Prince Regent by Lord Yarmouth in January 1818. It was placed in the Library at Carlton House. Sent to Windsor Castle on 28th November 1828. Recorded in the Green Drawing Room at Windsor Castle in 1915.
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Bronze
Measurements
83.0 x 80.0 x 55.0 cm (whole object)
Category
Object type(s)
