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Pyrrhus in the House of Glaucias

ca. 1752–56
Not on view
This drawing illustrates a scene from Plutarch’s Lives: the infant king Pyrrhus, after he is banished from his native Epirus, is presented to the Illyrian king Glaucias and his wife to request asylum. This large and fluidly worked sheet was included among the drawings Pajou exhibited in the Salon of 1759 and was part of the collection of his former teacher, the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger (French, 1704–1778). The precisely delineated shadows evoke the shallow space of a relief sculpture, and in fact, this composition would go on to be realized in three dimensions, twice in plaster and once in leather.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Pyrrhus in the House of Glaucias
  • Artist: Augustin Pajou (French, Paris 1730–1809 Paris)
  • Date: ca. 1752–56
  • Medium: Black chalk, pen and gray ink, brush and gray wash on two joined sheets
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 22 5/16 × 31 5/16 in. (56.7 × 79.5 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Harry G. Sperling Fund, 2014
  • Object Number: 2014.439
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Pierre François Basan (1723–1797), Augustin Pajou French, Terracotta, French
Pierre François Basan (1723–1797)
Augustin Pajou
20th century, after 18th century model
Bacchante, Augustin Pajou French, Terracotta, French
Bacchante
Augustin Pajou
19th century (?), after a model of 1774
Torchère figure (one of a pair), Augustin Pajou French, Plaster, carved and gilded wood, French
Torchère figure (one of a pair)
Augustin Pajou
19th century
Ceres, Augustin Pajou French, Buff terracotta with reddish patination, French, Paris
Ceres
Augustin Pajou
ca. 1768–70
Torchère figure (one of a pair), Augustin Pajou French, Plaster, carved and gilded wood, French
Torchère figure (one of a pair)
Augustin Pajou
19th century

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