Prometheus Strangling the Vulture - Philadelphia, PA
N 39° 57.935 W 075° 10.857
18S E 484546 N 4423952
Abstract piece represents the battle between good & evil, inspired by inspired by the classical Greek myth of Prometheus and the Vulture in which Prometheus stole fire from the gods as a gift for mankind. Southeast entrance of Phila. Museum of Art.
Waymark Code: WMAH2Q
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 01/15/2011
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The sculpture was begun in 1943 and was cast in 1953 by Jacques Lipchitz. As the Nazis threatened Europe, Lipchitz’s work moved toward allegory. Prometheus refers to the mythical hero who gave humans the liberating gift of fire. As punishment, the gods condemned him to be eaten forever by a bird of prey. But in Lipchitz’s version, Prometheus is subduing the terrible bird — an optimistic prediction of human victory over evil. I guess this was Lipchitz's way of sticking it to the Nazis. Ha!
The original version of Prometheus Strangling the Vulture was a 30-foot work cast in plaster for the Paris International Exposition in 1937. In 1943, the Brazilian government asked Lipchitz to sculpt another version of the work for the Ministry of Education and Health building in Rio de Janeiro. The Walker sculpture is based on the second version. In 1952 Lipchitz entered the plaster model for his Brazil commission in the annual sculpture exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, where it won the grand prize. The day after he sent the piece to Philadelphia, his New York studio was ruined by fire. Inspired by their respect for the sculpture and by its narrow escape, the trustees of the Philadelphia Museum of Art commissioned Lipchitz to cast the plaster in bronze.
Other copies have since been made and eventually this much bigger version was fashioned. The sculpture is fashioned from bronze and is 8 feet 1/2 inches x 7 feet 8 inches (245.1 x 233.7 cm). It was purchased with the Lisa Norris Elkins Fund in 1952. Inscription: (Sculpture, proper left side, lowest cloud form:) Lipchitz 1/2 1944 (Base, proper right rear surface of vertical side:) MODERN ART FDRY. N.Y. signed founder's mark appears. The base is made of limestone.
In Prometheus Strangling the Vulture, Lipchitz represented the mythic Greek hero who brought fire to humans, here locked in deadly struggle with the winged beast sent by the gods as punishment for his independence. Balanced gracefully on a tiny cloud, the muscular Prometheus will clearly be the victor as he throttles the bird with one hand and fends off his talons with the other. Lipchitz's version of this ancient story, with its clear distinction between good and evil, was meant to warn contemporary society about the importance of its own struggles but is not without optimism. John B. Ravenal, from Philadelphia Museum of Art: Handbook of the Collections (1995), p. 330.
The SIRIS page has the description as a semi-abstract work depicting the victory of man (as represented by Prometheus) over the dark forces of violence and destruction with particular reference to the totalitarian movements of the l930s. Prometheus was a mythological Greek hero who stole fire from the Gods as a gift to the first humans. As punishment, Zeus chained him to a rock in Caucasus and had a giant bird eat his organs. This punishment lasted until he was finally freed by Hercules. In Lipchitz's interpretation of the myth, Prometheus fights back to free himself and strangle the bird that has tortured him.
The SIRIS comments include: The plaster of the sculpture was created in 1943-44 and was exhibited in 1952 at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts where it won the George D. Widener Gold Medal. Following the exhibition, the Philadelphia Museum of Art purchased the plaster and had Lipchitz supervise the casting in 1952-53.