GIRARDON, François
(b. 1628, Troyes, d. 1715, Paris)

Winter

1675-79
Marble
Château, Versailles

This statue was executed after a drawing by Le Brun, inspired by the Iconologia by Cesare Ripa. Girardon transformed the conventional allegory into a dramatic and even tragic evocation of a man in the grip of the forces of death.

Originally the statue stood in the garden of the château where now it is replaced by a copy. Since 2009, the restored original is sheltered from erosion in the Galerie Basse (Lower Gallery) of the château.