Pegasus
ArtistVincenz Pilz
Yearca. 1863
TypeBronze
Dimensions270 cm × 230 cm × 610 cm (105 in × 90 in × 240 in)
LocationPhiladelphia
Coordinates39°58′45.12″N 75°12′34.9″W / 39.9792000°N 75.209694°W / 39.9792000; -75.209694
OwnerFairmount Park

Pegasus Tamed by the Muses Erato and Calliope are a pair of mirrored bronze sculptures designed by Vincenz Pilz.[1] Each sculpture depicts Pegasus accompanied by a muse from Greek mythology. Erato, who represents love poetry and carries a lyre, is on the left sculpture and Calliope, who represents epic poetry and carries a scroll, is on the right.[2] The sculptures, which are also known as the Flying Horses or the Pegagus group,[3] are located at Memorial Hall, a National Historic Landmark in Philadelphia.

Pilz designed the Pegasus sculptures for the Vienna State Opera in 1863.[4] However, the Austrian government ordered the sculptures to be removed from the site of the Opera house and melted down after they were deemed to be disproportionately-sized for the building.[5] Instead of being destroyed as directed, the sculptures were purchased by Philadelphia businessman and philanthropist Robert H. Gratz as a gift for Philadelphia's newly established Fairmont Park.[1] The sculptures were deconstructed into pieces and shipped to the United States, where they were reassembled and installed in front of Memorial Hall for the Centennial Exposition[6] in 1876. [7]

In 2017, the sculptures were again disassembled for conservation after a crack was discovered in one of the Pegasus's legs during a 2013 assessment by the Philadelphia's Office of Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy (OACCE).[2] The conservation and restoration work was performed by Materials Conservation Co., and received a 2018 Grand Jury Award from the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.[8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Greene, Elizabeth B. (2017). Buildings and landmarks of 19th-century America : American society revealed. Santa Barbara, California. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-4408-3572-8. OCLC 978712639.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. 1 2 "Pegasus". Association for Public Art. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  3. ↑ Highsmith, Carol (1980–2006). "[Flying Horses, also known as the Pegasus Group by Vincent Pilz] flanking the entrance to Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania". Prints and Photographs Division. Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  4. ↑ Philadelphia's Fairmount Park James D. Ristine
  5. ↑ "Pegasus, Vincent Pilz". Materials Conservation. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  6. ↑ "Public Art Alert – Pegasus Sculptures Restoration to Begin". Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  7. ↑ "Pegasus, (sculpture)". SIRIS
  8. ↑ City of Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy (2018). "The Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy Celebrates the Restoration of the Pegasus Statuary". www.creativephl.org. Retrieved 2020-11-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)


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