Antoine Etex
The Death of Hyacinthuscirca 1829

On view:

Geffen Galleries, floor 2

Dark brown patinated bronze sculpture of a reclining nude male figure leaning back against a rocky base, one arm raised to his forehead, on an oval plinth inscribed "HYACINTHE"

Bronze sculpture of a nude male figure kneeling on one knee atop a rocky base, torso twisted and one arm raised to the head, with a dark brown patinated surface and smooth finish.

Bronze sculpture of a seated nude male figure leaning back on one arm with the other hand raised to his bowed head, curly hair, draped cloth over a rocky base, dark patinated surface with high polish highlights.

Artist or Maker: Antoine Etex
Title: The Death of Hyacinthus
Place Made: France
Date Made: circa 1829
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: Overall: 15 x 12 1/2 x 9 in. (38.1 x 31.75 x 22.86 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of James E. Clark
Accession Number: M.83.225.1
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: European Painting and Sculpture
Curatorial Notes: The story of the death of Hyacinthus following Apollo’s fatal blow with a discus, recounted in Ovid’s Metamorphosis, was a hallmark of Antoine Etex’s early work. At the young age of twenty-one, the Parisian-born artist submitted a plaster version of the subject as his presentation piece for the Prix de Rome. His teacher, Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres, an indomitable force in French art at the time, advised against it, feeling that a composition based on the moment of Hyacinthus’s death was not dramatic enough to move the judges. Ingres was correct: the piece garnered second place. However, through the support of the director of the French Academy of Fine Arts, Etex secured a scholarship to spend two years in Rome.

Like generations of art students before him, Etex studied the antiquities in the ancient capital, gathering inspiration for the large-scale and public monumental works he would ultimately make. This tender depiction in bronze, with its delicate modeling of the youth’s sensitive features, showcases the sculptor’s facility for subtle emotional representations on a small scale.

2025
Selected Bibliography: Schaefer, Scott, and Peter Fusco. European Painting and Sculpture in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art: an Illustrated Summary Catalogue. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1987.

Antoine Etex
The Death of Hyacinthuscirca 1829

On view:

Geffen Galleries, floor 2

Artist or Maker: Antoine Etex
Title: The Death of Hyacinthus
Place Made: France
Date Made: circa 1829
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: Overall: 15 x 12 1/2 x 9 in. (38.1 x 31.75 x 22.86 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of James E. Clark
Accession Number: M.83.225.1
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: European Painting and Sculpture
Curatorial Notes: The story of the death of Hyacinthus following Apollo’s fatal blow with a discus, recounted in Ovid’s Metamorphosis, was a hallmark of Antoine Etex’s early work. At the young age of twenty-one, the Parisian-born artist submitted a plaster version of the subject as his presentation piece for the Prix de Rome. His teacher, Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres, an indomitable force in French art at the time, advised against it, feeling that a composition based on the moment of Hyacinthus’s death was not dramatic enough to move the judges. Ingres was correct: the piece garnered second place. However, through the support of the director of the French Academy of Fine Arts, Etex secured a scholarship to spend two years in Rome.

Like generations of art students before him, Etex studied the antiquities in the ancient capital, gathering inspiration for the large-scale and public monumental works he would ultimately make. This tender depiction in bronze, with its delicate modeling of the youth’s sensitive features, showcases the sculptor’s facility for subtle emotional representations on a small scale.

2025
Selected Bibliography: Schaefer, Scott, and Peter Fusco. European Painting and Sculpture in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art: an Illustrated Summary Catalogue. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1987.