3-008-803 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The International Exhibition: "Prometheus", a marble statue by Guiseppe [sic] Croft, 1862. 'This sculpture...is too painfully real in expression and action, and anyone with a grain of imagination must sicken to see the vulture's talons penetrating the thigh of a defenceless man, even though it be in marble, and although one may forget the horrible repast of the creature told in fable. We must add, that we think the elegance of the figure, the sleekness of the hair, and the trimness of the beard rather out of place in a subject of such severity and majesty. For the execution of this group we have, however, nothing but praise; the name of this distinguished Milanese sculptor, Croft (incorrectly spelt Croff in the catalogue), being a sufficient guarantee of its excellence'. Prometheus' punishment for stealing fire from Olympus and giving it to humans was to be bound to a rock, and an eagle was sent to eat his liver. His liver would then grow back overnight, only to be eaten again the next day in an ongoing cycle. From "Illustrated London News", 1862.