Museum number
1997.1
Object
Sculpture: Diana and Endymion, Giuseppe Plura, marble, 1752
Description
The virgin goddess Diana the Huntress is shown here with the beautiful youth Endymion who was sent into an eternal sleep by Jupiter in exchange for being granted perpetual beauty. Each night the goddess visited him and here she is shown embracing the recumbant figure, as he lies in a leafy bower with a sleeping dog beside him. This small refined group is a masterpiece of charm and virtuosity. It is remarkably rococo in feel and shows the influence of French sculpture of the period.The group was clearly executed as a "showpiece" and was on view in Plura's studio, for which he took out a lease in 1753. Connoiseurs like Ivory Talbot of Lacock Abbey admired it, and wrote to his friend Sanderson-Miller on 13 August 1754: "When at Bath, fail not to see a piece of sculpture of Endymion on Mount Patmos, the performance of Mr Plura a Statuary."Plura moved to London in 1755, taking the Diana and Endymion group with him. He died the following year, and his young widow and children returned to Bath. The marble group (1997.1) passed through the Bartrum family and remained in Bath until the turn of the century.
Materials
Marble
Inscription
Signed and dated in Bath 1752.
On display?
Yes

Further description

Simple name
Sculpture
Diana and Endymion Giuseppe Plura (died 1756) Marble, 1752 In classical myth, Jupiter sent the Shepherd Endymion into eternal sleep in return for perpetual beauty. He was loved by Diana, goddess of the moon who visited him each night. Plura, an Italian sculptor, arrived in Bath around 1749 and set up a studio. This sculpture was his ‘showpiece’ there and it was much admired. 1997.1 Acquired in 1996, generously assisted by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Art Fund, the Friends of the Holburne Museum, other charitable trusts and organisations, and private individuals including descendants of the sculptor

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