Amazon Preparing for Battle (Queen Antiope or Hippolyta?), or Armed Venus

model c. 1860/1872, cast by 1882

Pierre-Eugène-Emile Hébert

Associated Names
Pierre-Eugène-Emile Hébert

Artist, French, 1828 - 1893

The sculpture depicts a female warrior figure in a dynamic pose. She wears a helmet with a tall crest in the shape of waves and two large flaps by her ears that give the impression of large, pointed ears. She is seated with one knee slightly raised and is shown stringing a large bow that goes from her shoulders all the way down to her feet. Her body faces us, but her face is turned to the left, looking down at the bow. She has a straight nose, arched eyebrows, and high cheekbones. She is wearing a draped dress and sandals. The sculpture is a dark brown color with some areas of slightly lighter brown, and it reflects the light. It is positioned on a low, flat base of the same material.

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On View

West Building Ground Floor, Gallery G3


Artwork overview

  • Medium

    bronze

  • Credit Line

    Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 65.3 x 40.6 x 26.6 cm (25 11/16 x 16 x 10 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1987.25.1


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Private collection, New York, by early 1987; (Pegasus Fine Arts, New York), by May 1987;[1] purchased 29 May 1987 by NGA.
[1] Dealer's information sheet (in NGA curatorial files).

Associated Names

Bibliography

1994

  • Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: 107, repro.

2000

  • Butler, Ruth, and Suzanne Glover Lindsay, with Alison Luchs, Douglas Lewis, Cynthia J. Mills, and Jeffrey Weidman. European Sculpture of the Nineteenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2000: 277-285, color repro.

Inscriptions

incised, probably in the foundry model, on top of base near left foot: EMILE HEBERT; cold-stamped, on rim of base at rear: Servant's foundry cachet

Markings

FM: G. Servant

Wikidata ID

Q63861004

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