Louis Tuaillon (1862 Berlin - 1919 ibid.) Hercules and the erymanthic boar Bronze, dark brown patina, 1899/1901, signed; foundry mark by Martin & Piltzing, Berlin. Early casting from 1901 or shortly thereafter. Standing in a broad lunge, Hercules is depicted entirely as a man of strength who has firmly gripped the boar. Influenced by Rodin, this group is one of the most important works by the sculptor, who lived in Rome from 1885 to 1903. In 1899/1900, he created the model for a life-size bronze version (never realized) on a staircase stringer in the National Gallery in Berlin as part of a sculpture competition he won. In 1901, a first bronze cast was made in Rome based on the small plaster model (on loan to the Kunsthalle Bremen); further casts made in 1901 and the following years can be found in the Nationalgalerie in Berlin and the Wallraff-Richartz-Museum in Cologne, among others. In 1902, Tuaillon showed the bronze for the first time at the 5th Art Exhibition of the Berlin Secession under the title "Hercules with the Boar". It was not until around 1910 that a large marble version was created; around 1937, the sculptor's daughter Eva Tuaillon had a bronze cast made based on this, which was erected on Lützowplatz in Berlin in the 1960s. Approx. 49 cm x 40 cm x 20 cm. Dark brown patinated bronze, 1899/1901. Signed, foundry mark by Martin & Piltzing. Early cast from 1901 or shortly after.