The Dying Gaul

Click to enlarge

Date:
End of 3rd century BC

Type:
Statue

Materials:
Bronze, granite

Measurements:

Owner:
Copenhagen Municipality

Donated by:
The Albertina Foundation

Address:
The Ørsted Park

Recommended litterature:
Ellinor Wensche: Friluftskunsten i København, København 1932, 55-56. Charles Haugbøll: Ørstedsparken, København 1933, 23, 44, 49. Monumenter Mindesmærker og Statuer i København Frederiksberg og Gjentofte, København 1944, 30. Legatet 'Albertina'. I anledning af legatets 80 aars dag den 18. november 1959, København 1959, 7-8, 10. Hovedstadens monumenter mindetavler museer. En vejviser, København 1962, 66. Bent Zinglersen: Københavnske monumenter og mindesmærker, København 1974, 222. Erik Wassard i: København før og nu – og aldrig. En billedkavalkade om København inden for voldene og søerne, red. Bo Bramsen, Bind 10: Nørrevold, Østervold og Kastellet, København 1990, p. 99. Jens Peter Munk: Bronze & granit. Monumenter i Københavns Kommune, København 2005, 165

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The statue represents a naked Gallic warrior on the point of death. He is characterised by his burly body, his rough hair and moustache and the Gallic torque round his neck. His sword, shield and trumpet lie on the ground, and he is still trying to remain standing by supporting himself on his right arm, while his head has sunk down on his chest. His life will soon be ebbing out.

The original was made at the end of the 3rd century at Pergamon in Asia Minor, which in the period after Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) was ravaged by plundering Gallic tribes. The Gaul was originally part of the group that King Attalos I of Pergamon erected on the Acropolis at Athens.

The bronze cast was made from a Roman marble copy in the Musei Capitolini, Rome