Atalanta And Hippomenes, Pair Of 19th Century Bronzes

Atalante and Hippolmene, pair of bronzes bearing the mark of Achille Colas, before his association with Ferdinand Barbedienne in 1845.
Beautiful patina, very good condition.
Based on the marble sculptures of Guillaume Coustou and Lepeautre formerly in the Chateau de Marly park and today exhibited at the Louvre Museum.

Atalanta and Hippomenes are two characters from Greek mythology, as described by the Latin writer Ovid, in the Metamorphoses in Book X. Atalanta is a nymph whose unbeatable ability to run was only defeated by Hippomenes thanks to to a ploy hatched by Aphrodite. Atalanta is a woman opposed to the marriage predicted to her by an oracle, ready to marry only the one who beats her in a foot race, her defeated suitors paying the stake with death. Hippomenes, in love with Atalanta, with the help of Aphrodite, who provides him with three golden apples picked in the garden of the Hesperides, throws them during the race to distract the young virgin huntress; when Atalanta bends down to collect them, she is overtaken, losing the race. But Hippomenes forgets to thank Aphrodite for the gift of apples, and the goddess strikes him with a sudden erotic desire which pushes him to unite with Atalanta in the temple of Cybele. In turn, she transforms the two sacrilegious people into lions, which she then harnesses to her chariot. According to Greek belief, lions do not mate with each other to reproduce, but with other species.