Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami

Vulcan Being Crowned by Bona Dea

Artist/Maker Edouard Félicien Alexis Pépin (France, b. 1853)

Datenot dated

Mediumbronze

DimensionsOverall: 21 1/8 x 14 x 14 7/8 in. (53.7 x 35.6 x 37.8 cm)

ClassificationsVisual Works

Credit LineBequest of Rose and Albert Friedman

Terms

Object number2006.2.3

On View

Not on view

Collections

Art of Europe

DescriptionThis sculpture is thought to represent Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, smithy to the gods of Mt. Olympus, and maker of all crafts, being crowned with an honorific laurel wreath by Bona Dea (in Latin, "the Good Goddess"). Most closely associated with metal-working, Vulcan’s forge was said to be located beneath Mt. Etna, the Sicilian volcano (vulcano in Italian), where he created beautiful things, such as thrones for the gods of Mt. Olympus, as well as useful things, like locks that never broke, and weapons and armor for gods and heroes. Married to Venus, goddess of beauty, Vulcan was also closely associated with, and was sometimes said to have been the husband of Bona Dea, whom the artist has depicted holding a cornucopia, one of her attributes. Pepin’s portrayal of Vulcan as a middle-aged man with unkempt hair and beard is a typical representation of the god. However, the artist has idealized the physique, thereby ennobling all craftsmen and their work. As befits the smithy to the gods, Vulcan is seated on an anvil, surrounded by his other identifying attributes, among them a blacksmith’s hammer and tongs. The god Hephaestus was Vulcan’s Greek counterpart.