TILGNER, Victor Oskar
(b. 1844, Pressburg, d. 1896, Wien)

Gladiator and Defeated Slave

1880
Patinated and gilt plaster, height 99 cm
Private collection

This plaster group is clearly inspired by one of Jean-Léon Gérôme's paintings, his Pollice Verso of 1872, in which a triumphant Gladiator treads his sandal into the neck of his defeated opponent, his sword held outstretched, whilst he turns towards the crowd for bloodthirsty instruction (Phoenix Art Museum).