Ariadne on the Panther: Carrara Marble Figure, 19th Century

A carrara marble figure of Ariadne on the Panther Italian 19th century 61 cm high, 54 cm wide, 20 cm deep After Johann Heinrich von Dannecker, Stuttgart (1758-1841 ). Ariadne, the daughter of the King Minos of Crete, having helped Theseus, whom she loved, to escape from the labyrinth, was in turn abandoned by him on the island of Naxos. Bacchus rescued her, consoled her and soon they were married. The vine wreath in Ariadne's hair alludes to her union with Bacchus, the God of Wine, as does the panther which is often depicted drawing Bacchus's triumphal chariot. Ariadne's heavenward gaze may also relate to the constellation created when Bacchus flung her jewelled crown to the heavens. Dannecker's sculpture was a popular attraction at Bethmann's museum in Frankfurt, and became an essential stop on the tourist trail, Due to this it frequently appeared in English guidebooks, novels and travel narratives, such as Anna Jameson's 'Sketches of Germany' (1832). Johann Heinrich von Dannecker received his initial training as a sculptor in his native town of Stuttgart. In 1776 he committed himself to ducal service for life and was appointed court sculptor to the Duke of Wurttemberg in 1780, he continued his studies by travelling first to Paris and then to Rome. The works of classical antiquity and those of Antonio Canova (1775?1822) made a deep impression on him. Back in Stuttgart, he executed a large number of portrait busts, among them the famous one of his boyhood friend Friedrich von Schiller, as well as sculptures of classical and Christian themes. In 1803 Dannecker began work on his 'Ariadne on the Panther', which was not a commission from the Duke. It depicts the Cretan princess Ariadne, wife of the god of wine Dionysus, seated on the big cat in a relaxed pose. When Dannecker asked his employer if he might sell the work on his own account, the request was granted; but he was denied all further official commissions until the death of his fellow sculptor Philipp Johann Scheffauer (1756?1808). By 1805 the 'Ariadne' ? at that time still standing in his studio ? was already regarded as one of his masterpieces. The sculpture expresses the idea of 'wildness tamed by beauty', according to the motto Dannecker is said to have devised, together with his brother-in-law Heinrich Rapp. In 1810 the statue was sold to the Frankfurt banker Simon Moritz von Bethmann (1768?1826), and in 1816 it was put on display in the so-called Odeon, the first museum in Frankfurt to be open to the public. From 1856 onwards it stood in the specially built 'Ariadneum'. Every day, according to Bethmann, there was a 'positive pilgrimage' to see the sculptor's most famous work. Dimensions: 61 cm high, 54 cm wide, 20 cm deep