HD photographs of bronze Hercules and the Bull statue at Palais de Chaillot - Page 14
We were in the 16th Arrondissement of Paris at the Palais de Chaillot located within the Jardins du Trocadero, when we took these high definition photos showing a statue called Hercule et le Taureau, which was sculpted by Albert Pommier.
Paris Statues
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This first HD photo shows a statue called Hercule et le Taureau, which in English translates to Hercules and the Bull, however, there are also other names associated with this particular sculpture, which include Heracles and the Cretan Bull, Hercules and the Cretan Bull, plus Heracles and the Bull.
Now in Greek mythology, the name of the strong and courageous man who became a hero was Heracles, the son of Zeus, yet in Roman mythology he is called Hercules, the son of Jupiter, and many heroes were adapted in the Roman literature from those of the ancient Greeks, which is why this statue has several different names.
Yet here you can see a close up photograph showing the head of the Cretan Bull, and in Greek mythology Pasiphae the wife of Minos fell in love with the bull that had originally been sent by Poseidon to Minos for sacrifice, but Minos freed it, sacrificing an inferior bull, and in the story, through the curse of Poseidon, Pasiphae gave birth to the Minotaur who was half man, half bull.
But the story continues, as again in Greek mythology, the Seventh Labour of Heracles was to capture the Cretan Bull, which is why there are so many statues, sculptures and even paintings depicting this, with this particular bronze statue group being positioned on the terrace of the Trocadero Gardens, in front of the western wing of the Palais de Chaillot.
And here you can see a close up showing the statue of Heracles, or Hercules, depicted as a strong young man who is best known for his adventures and the twelve labours, which were different tasks given to him by his enemy Eurystheus who had become king in his place, and these were in order that Hercules, or Heracles could be purified of his sins, with capturing the Cretan Bull being the seventh labour.
You will find that this particular statue group called Hercule et le Taureau was sculpted by Albert Pommier who was born in Paris in 1880 and studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts to become a French sculptor, and this particular statue of Hercules and the Bull was commissioned to him for the 1937 World Fair, called the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne.
Originally a plaster model was sculpted, which is now held within a museum in Poitiers, then once approved the full version was produced before being cast in bronze, and then placed on the terrace facing over the Jardins du Trocadero, which were also re-designed for the Universal Exhibition and include the famous fountains that can be seen today.
Originally there was once a building called the Palais du Trocadero, which was demolished for a new construction, which became called the Palais de Chaillot, named after the hill where it sits at the top, above the gardens and on the opposite bank of the River Seine to the Eiffel Tower, a part of which you can see behind this statue of Heracles and the Cretan Bull.
And here you can see both the east and west wings of the Palais de Chaillot with the bronze statue on the terrace in front of the west wing, and Albert Pommier won a prize for this bronze work of Hercules and the Cretan Bull, which was completed in time for the inauguration of the new palace designed for the 1937 World Fair in Paris.
However, there were already different statues that were within the Trocadero Gardens and at the old Palais du Trocadero, which were moved to the Musee d'Orsay where they can still be seen today, and this bronze was one of several new statues commissioned to different artists of the time to adorn the renovated area in the 16th Arrondissement.
In fact, on the terrace in front of the east wing of the Palais de Chaillot, there is a another bronze statue depicting Apollo, also on the theme of Greek mythology, and he was also a son of Zeus, just as Heracles was, yet it was also on this terrace that a famous picture of Adolf Hitler was taken during World War II, with the Eiffel Tower as his backdrop.
So it is fortunate that this bronze statue was not melted down, which was the fate of many bronze sculptures and statues during World War II, but here you can see a close up photograph of where Albert Pommier has etched his name onto one of the rocks at the base of the statue where Hercules and the Bull are standing.
The bronze statue of Hercule et le Taureau, stands at over six metres in height, and we took this photograph from what was originally called the Esplanade du Trocadero, then the Esplanade de Chaillot, however, when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, which was held at the Palais de Chaillot, the esplanade with its famous views became renamed the Esplanade des Droits de l'Homme.
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