Gilded statue of Jupiter by Johann Jakob Vogelhund (1723) at Rastatt Palace

It was no accident that I recalled La Fontaine's fable of the statue of Jupiter last night. In an illustrated edition of La Fontaine, the figure of Jupiter was depicted as a sculpture resembling the one installed in the hall of the former residence of the Margraves of Baden-Baden in the German town of Rastatt.

The gilded statue of Jupiter was originally placed on the roof of Schloss Rastatt, but was later moved indoors. Half-naked and seemingly a little weary, with bundles of thunderbolts and an eagle crouching at his feet, this Jupiter, the work of Johann Jakob Vogelhund, dated 1723, is in my view one of the finest incarnations of Jupiter in modern times.

He shall be a god! Let the ruler
Hold the thunderbolts in his hands!
Fall to the dust, you mortals,
Behold the master of the universe!

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Gilded statue of Jupiter by Johann Jakob Vogelhund (1723) at Rastatt Palace

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