Hector and Andromache
Medium
Marble
Dimensions
Overall (rough, on-site dimensions): 78 × 41 × 26 in. (198.1 × 104.1 × 66 cm)
Classification
Sculpture
Culture
Italian, Rome
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Lawrence Kip, 1899
Accession Number
99.9a, b
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the grand tradition of neoclassical sculpture, Giovanni Maria Benzoni *Hector and Androm* (1871) captures a poignant moment from Homer's *Iliad*. The Italian sculptor, based in Rome, depicts the Trojan prince Hector bidding farewell to his wife Andache and their infant son Astyanax heading to battle. Hector, shown as a muscular male nude grasping a spear, stands protectively as Andromache clings to him in evident sorrow, evoking the timeless themes of love, duty, and impending tragedy that resonated deeply in 19th-century Europe. Carved from a massive block of marble—measuring nearly 78 in...