Athlete Wrestling with a Python
- Artist
- Lord Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton of Stretton, English, 1830–1896
- Date
- 1877
- Material
- Bronze
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- height including base: 20 5/16 in. (51.6 cm)
base only: 1 3/4 x 8 1/8 x 11 9/16 in. (4.5 x 20.6 x 29.4 cm) - Credit Line
- Bequest of William Booth Papin
- Rights
- Contact Us
- Object Number
- 78:1945
NOTES
A muscular male nude struggles with a python, clutching its head with his outstretched hand while the snake encircles his thigh and wraps its tail around his ankle. This cast is a reduced version of a life-size sculpture exhibited in London in 1877 to great acclaim. Frederic, Lord Leighton, better known as a painter but also successful as a sculptor, was the most prominent English academic artist of the 19th century, and president of the Royal Academy for several years.