{"id":1629,"title":"Ganymede and the Eagle","medium":"Marble","classification":"Sculpture","dimension":"34 3/4 x 18 1/2 x 46 3/8 in. (88.27 x 46.99 x 117.79 cm)","object_name":"Figure","continent":"Europe","country":"Denmark","nationality":"Danish","dated":"1817–29","room":"G307","list":"sculpture-highlights, Euro-highlights-1800-1960s","role":"Sculptor","signed":"THORWALDSEN FECIT","text":"In Greek mythology, Ganymede was cupbearer to the gods, serving them with nectar and ambrosia. As a young prince of Troy, he was abducted by Zeus, ruler of the gods, and carried off to Mount Olympus, the gods’ home, where he became immortal.\r\n\r\nAn admirer of Greek and Roman art, Bertel Thorvaldsen was one of the foremost neoclassical sculptors of the 1800s. At the age of only eleven, he was accepted into the Royal Danish Academy of Art. In 1797 the excellence of his artwork earned him a royal stipend that enabled him to study in Rome, where he spent a large part of his career.","creditline":"Gift of the Morse Foundation","accession_number":"66.9","artist":"Sculptor: Bertel Thorvaldsen","life_date":"Danish, 1770–1844","department":"European Art","rights_type":"Public Domain","image_width":5840,"image_height":4787,"recent":0,"see_also":[],"sort_number":"66     9","image":"valid","public_access":1,"curator_approved":0,"highlights":0,"Cache_Location":"001000\\600\\20\\1629","Primary_RenditionNumber":"mia_4001458.jpg","Rights_Image_Display":"Full","list:sculpture-highlights":true,"list:euro-highlights-1800-1960s":true,"related:audio-stops":[{"title":"Bertel Thorvaldsen, Ganymede and the Eagle","_id":"1629","objectId":"1629","link":"http://audio-tours.s3.amazonaws.com/p931.mp3","number":"931","type":"audio"}],"related:artstories":[{"title":"Ganymede and the Eagle","_id":"1629","objectId":"1629","description":"<p>It’s a classic story of boy meets bird. The boy is Ganymede, a beautiful prince, and the bird is Zeus, father of the Greek gods. Zeus was captivated by Ganymede’s beauty, so he disguised himself as an eagle and abducted the boy to serve as the gods’ cup bearer on Mount Olympus. That’s the myth. But Bertel Thorvaldsen’s sculpture suggests a more benign interaction as the boy stoops to offer the eagle a drink and the eagle peacefully leans forward to accept. The eagle’s beak hovers just above the boy’s drink, and the two figures—the human and the divine—are frozen mere seconds before touching. An unnerving love story is reconsidered, revising the relationship between gods and humankind.  </p>","link":"http://artstories.artsmia.org/#/o/1629","type":"artstory"}],"mtime":"2026-03-13T09:00:09.514Z"}