ADAM, Nicolas-Sébastien
(b. 1705, Nancy, d. 1778, Paris)

Prometheus

1737
Marble, height 115 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

Adam's art was influenced by the Italian Baroque, which he had assimilated in Rome. Prometheus, the artist's presentation piece for the Academy in 1737, reveals a facile inspiration, great technical skill ostentatiously displayed, and a real sense for the decorative. His Triumph of Neptune and Amphitrite at Versailles, created with his brother Nicolas-Sebastian, is an exemplary work of French Rococo sculptural style.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 13 minutes):
Franz Liszt: Prometheus, symphonic poem