Hercules Skinning the Nemean Lion

François Lespingola

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Hercules subdued the Nemean lion by order of his nemesis King Eurystheus, who ordered all twelve of his famous Labors. He is often shown wrestling with it but seldom if ever skinning it after slaying it. The figure reacting in fright at the side is a water nymph personifying a stream in the neighborhood of Mount Cithaeron, where Hercules performed this first of his Labors. As in all his groups, Lespingola cut the wax model into sections then reassembled them after casting. Here, there are three sections: lion with tree and ground, Hercules, and nymph. He availed himself of the lion’s tail, making it serve as a sprue for the casting.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art