Centaurs, Then and Now

About Centaurs:

The most common theory holds that the idea of centaurs came from the first reaction of a non-horse riding culture to nomads who were mounted on horses. The theory goes that such riders would appear as half-man, half-horse. (Bernal Díaz del Castillo reported that the Aztecs had this misapprehension about Spanish cavalrymen.) In Greek mythology, centaurs often had bad reputations with a predilection to violence, wild behavior and debauchery.

 

 

Le Centaure Nessus enlevant Dėjanire

(The centaur Nessus carrying off Dejanire, 1892) in the Tuileries Garden.

 

 

The marble statue, The Centaure Nessus carrying off Déjanire, is by the French sculptor Laurent Marqueste (1848–1920). Nessus was a famous centaur in Greek mythology who played a key role in the story of the Tunic of Nessus. After carrying off Dejanire, the wife of Heracles, he attempted to rape her. Heracles saw this from across a river and shot a poisoned arrow into Nessus's breast. As a final act of malice, Nessus told Dejanire, as he lay dying, that his blood would ensure that Heracles would be true to her forever. Dejanire foolishly believed him. Later, when she became jealous of Iole, a younger and very desirable woman who had caught the eye of Heracles, Dejanire spread the centaur's blood on a tunic and gave it to her husband. Heracles went to a gathering of heroes, where his passion got the better of him. Meanwhile, Dejanire accidentally spilled some of the centaur's blood on the floor. To her horror, it began to fume by the light of the rising sun. She instantly recognized it as poison and sent her messenger to warn Heracles, but it was too late. Heracles lay dying slowly and painfully as the shirt burned his skin—either in actual flames or by the heat of poison. He died a noble death on a funeral pyre of oak branches, and was taken to Mount Olympus by Zeus and welcomed amongst the gods for his heroic exploits. 

 

Le Centaure Nessus enlevant Dejanire

Dejanire and the centaur are both missing parts of their limbs, but it is still a very dramatic-looking sculpture

 

 

Le Centaure Nessus enlevant Dejanire (center of photo) in the Tuileries Garden with a wing of the Louvre in the background

 

 

Centaure Mourant

by Antoine Bourdelle in the Musee Bourdelle

The Musee Bourdelle is located on the small, quiet street of rue Bourdelle near the Gare du Montparnasse ( Montparnasse train station) and the Montparnasse Tower. The museum was the home and workshop of Antoine Bourdelle, a great sculptor of the late 19th and early 20th century. His works are in the museum and in gardens surrounding the museum. This museum is fantastic, and I have never seen such epically huge sculptures all in one place.

Centaure Mourant

 

The Dying Centaur is wounded and almost collapsed, neither free from pain nor assured of life. His neck is stretched, bending his head to his left shoulder. He is the wise centaur with his lyre, signifying a dying artist whose followers no longer believe in him.

 

 

Centaure Mourant

 

As you enter the Great Hall of the museum, there are plaster casts of many of Bourdelle’s sculptures. The Dying Centaur is at the far end under the rotunda. The back of the harp is inscribed: "To all of my family, my cherished wife Cleopatra Sevestos and my beloved children Pierre and Rhodia, I dedicate the dying centaur, Emile-Antoine Bourdelle, 6th March 1914, Paris"

 

 

 

Cesar’s Centaure at Place Michel Debre

At the corner of Rue de Sèvres and Rue du Cherche Midi, in the 6th arrondissement, stands an imposing 15-foot high sculpture made of soldered bronze. It is Le Centaure by Cesar Baldiccini (1921-1998, known simply as Cesar.) Cesar was a greatly admired sculptor in France in the 1980s, and this huge sculpture was installed on the street where he lived. The nearest metro station is Sevres Babylone.

Le Centaure is both a homage to Picasso and a self-portrait of the artist himself. Cesar and Picasso were personal friends, and Cesar was inspired by Picasso’s art. The centaur is wearing a mask that sits on top of his head and points to the sky. As a tribute to Picasso, the mask is in Picasso’s likeness. The sculpture looks very aggressive in spite of the dove that is in the palm of its hand. It was installed in the square in 1985. During his career, Cesar experimented in a variety of materials for his sculptures, including steel scrap, crushed metal and compacted, discarded objects such as cardboard, wooden baskets, jute sacs, catalogs and blue jeans to create works of art. In 1993, at a ceremony at the Elysée Palace, Present François Mitterrand awarded the artist the Croix d'Officier of the Legion of Honor.

 

 

Cesar’s Centaure

 

 

Cesar’s Centaure

 

This is the last of the centaurs I've seen in Paris, at least for now.