Pio Fedi
Italian, 1816–1892
The Abduction of Polyxena
c. 1858
During the Trojan War, Polyxena lured the Greek hero Achilles to his death. In revenge, Achilles’s son Pyrrhus killed Polyxena’s brother and carried her off as a sacrifice, despite the protests of her mother Hecuba, the Trojan Queen. This bronze is a version of a large marble sculpture commissioned for the Loggia de Lanzi in the center of Florence. Several ancient writers describe how Polyxena preferred death to slavery, and her story may have resonated with nineteenth-century Florentines as a symbol of resistance against the Austrian invasion of Italy.
| Medium | cast bronze |
| Dimensions | Height: 43 5/16 in. (110 cm) Base: 22 1/4 x 17 1/2 in. (56.5 x 44.5 cm) |
| Object Number | 2001.9 |
| Acquisition | Acquired by the Clark, 2001 |
| Status | On View |
Image Caption
Pio Fedi, The Abduction of Polyxena, c. 1858, cast bronze. Clark Art Institute, Acquired by the Clark, 2001.9
Select Bibliography
Rand, Richard. "Recent Acquisitions (19942005) at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute." The Burlington Magazine 147, no. 1225 (April 2005): 293300.
