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Ugolino and His Sons

1865–67
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 548
The subject of this intensely Romantic work is derived from canto XXXIII of Dante's Inferno, which describes how the Pisan traitor Count Ugolino della Gherardesca, his sons, and his grandsons were imprisoned in 1288 and died of starvation. Carpeaux's visionary statue, executed in 1865–67, reflects the artist's passionate reverence for Michelangelo, specifically for The Last Judgment (1536–41) in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican, Rome, as well as his own painstaking concern with anatomical realism.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Ugolino and His Sons
  • Artist: Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (French, Valenciennes 1827–1875 Courbevoie)
  • Date: 1865–67
  • Culture: French, Paris
  • Medium: Saint-Béat marble
  • Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): 77 3/4 × 59 × 43 1/2 in., 4955 lb. (197.5 × 149.9 × 110.5 cm, 2247.6 kg);
    Pedestal (wt. confirmed): 3759 lb. (1705.1 kg)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Josephine Bay Paul and C. Michael Paul Foundation Inc. Gift, Charles Ulrick and Josephine Bay Foundation Inc. Gift, and Fletcher Fund, 1967
  • Object Number: 67.250
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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90. Ugolino and His Sons

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More Artwork

More Artwork
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Ugolino, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux French, Plaster, painted black, French
Ugolino
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
19th century
Boy crying, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux French, Cast terracotta, French, Paris
Boy crying
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
1870–72
Model for the Watteau Fountain, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux French, Patinated plaster, French
Model for the Watteau Fountain
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
ca. 1867–68
Study for the Ugolino Group, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux French, Graphite
Study for the Ugolino Group
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
19th century
Bacchante with vine leaves, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux French, Terracotta; marble base, French
Bacchante with vine leaves
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
ca. 1872–75

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