Athlete Wrestling with a Python

Athlete Wrestling with a Python marked Leighton’s first foray into sculpture. He created the work in the studio of his friend Thomas Brock and exhibited the original life-size bronze at the Royal Academy 1877. Critics wondered at Leighton’s mastery of a medium that was completely new to him and admired the refined surface details like the distended vein on the athlete’s foot and serpent’s scales. The realism of the work had a profound influence upon British art and inspired the so-called New Sculpture movement. The original cast was purchased as part of the Chantrey bequest and is now in the Tate, this reduced scale version was cast c.1903-1911.

1877 (this cast c.1903-1911)

Bronze

52.0 x 28.0 x 36.0 cm

2012-0005

Acquired in 2005 with the generous support of The Art Fund, the ACE/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, and private donations. Image and text © The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, 2020