''Ugolino and His Sons'' is a marble sculpture of

Ugolino Ugolino is an Italian masculine given name that is a diminutive form of Ugo. It may also refer to: Artists and musicians * Ugolino di Nerio (1280?–1349), Italian painter active in Siena and Florence * Ugolino di Tedice (died after 1277), Italian ...

made by

Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (11 May 1827 – 12 October 1875) was a French sculptor and painter during the Second Empire under Napoleon III. Life Born in Valenciennes, Nord, son of a mason, his early studies were under François Rude. Carpeaux en ...

in Paris during the 1860s. It depicts the story of Ugolino from Dante's ''

Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * Inferno (1973 fi ...

'' in which the 13th century count is imprisoned and starving with his children. The work, known for its expressive detail, launched Carpeaux's career.

Description and style

The work is a highly expressive depiction of

Ugolino della Gherardesca Ugolino della Gherardesca (March 1289), Count of Donoratico, was an Italian nobleman, politician and naval commander. He was frequently accused of treason and features prominently in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. Biography In the 13th century, the ...

from Canto XXXIII of Dante's ''

''. In the story, the Pisan count Ugolino is sentenced to die in a tower prison with his children and grandchildren. Carpeaux shows Ugolino at the moment where he considers cannibalism. The work is emblematic of the Romantic style's heightened physical and emotional states. Ugolino looks into the distance. His posture ignores the four children that cling to his body as if he were unaware they were there—the youngest is curled at his feet and possibly dead. In the source text, Ugolino grieves the agonizing death of his children and whether he eats his children's flesh is unclear to the reader, as it is in the sculpture. Ugolino's body is muscular even though he is starving. Its style reflects the Vatican's ''

Laocoön and His Sons The statue of ''Laocoön and His Sons'', also called the Laocoön Group ( it, Gruppo del Laocoonte), has been one of the most famous ancient sculptures ever since it was excavated in Rome in 1506 and placed on public display in the Vatican Museums ...

''.

Production

Carpeaux won the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

in 1854. While in Rome, he stayed in the

French Academy in Rome The French Academy in Rome (french: Académie de France à Rome) is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in Rome, Italy. History The Academy was founded at the Palazzo Capranica in ...

Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in Rome, Italy. The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Medici, ...

and studied the works of Michelangelo. Carpeaux's Ugolino was prototyped on Michelangelo's works from three centuries prior, particularly his ''Last Judgment'' panel of the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel (; la, Sacellum Sixtinum; it, Cappella Sistina ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its nam ...

. The children's anatomy was based on naturalistic observation. He sketched dying children as part of his preparation. He was compositionally influenced by ''Laocoön and His Sons'' at the Vatican. Carpeaux completed the work in the last year of his residence at the French Academy in Rome. The sculpture was cast in bronze in 1863 by the French Ministry of Fine Arts and displayed in the Parisian

Tuileries The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from ...

to accompany a replica of ''Laocoön''. A marble version was completed in Paris under Carpeaux's supervision for the owner of the

Saint-Béat Saint-Béat (; Gascon: ''Sent Biat'') is a former commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Saint-Béat-Lez.1867 International Exposition. This version was later acquired by the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Reception

The initial release of the plaster model created a "public sensation". ''Ugolino and His Sons'' departed from the French Academy's tradition with "boldness and vigor" and the "spirit and masterly technique worthy of Michelangelo". The sculpture, and Carpeaux, were considered descendants of the 1830s French Romantic sculptor tradition associated with

François Rude François Rude (4 January 1784 – 3 November 1855) was a French sculptor, best known for the ''Departure of the Volunteers'', also known as ''La Marseillaise'' on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. (1835–36). His work often expressed patriotic the ...

and Auguste Préault. Carpeaux admired the works of Rude, who once served as his mentor. ''Ugolino and His Sons'' launched Carpeaux's career and led to his commission for the

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...

of the Palais Garnier opera house: '' La Danse'', a work that made him famous.

Legacy

Surrealist artist

Max Ernst Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealis ...

used a woodcut of ''Ugolino'', presumably from the International Exposition's catalog, in his 1929 graphic novel ''La femme 100 têtes''. His collage preserves the terror of Ugolino's face, but juxtaposes it against musical instruments.

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Visual arts, New York City, History Sculptures of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Romantic art Works based on Inferno (Dante) 1861 sculptures French sculpture Nude sculptures Sculptures of children