The Dying Galate - Alabaster of the Grand Tour

Alabaster sculpture representing the Dying Galatea.

The Dying Galatian or Dying Gladiator, also known as the Capitoline Galatian, is a Roman marble copy of a lost Greek original (probably in bronze) from the Hellenistic period. It is exhibited in the Palazzo Nuovo in Rome, within the Capitoline Museums, in the center of the Hall of the Gladiators (which gave it its name). However, in the middle of the 19th century, it was identified as Gaulish or Galatian and the current name "Dying Galatian" gradually gained acceptance.

Long appreciated by sculptors and artists of all times, this sculpture has been copied many times. We are here in the presence of a copy made by an artist in Italy, and brought back during the Grand Tour. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Grand Tour was the privilege of art lovers, collectors and writers, including Goethe and Alexandre Dumas. One of the effects of the Grand Tour was to bring the high society of Northern Europe into contact with ancient art.

Italian work of the XIXth century; very good condition.

Height: 15.5 cm.
Length: 27.9 cm.
Depth: 11.5 cm.