Othryades the Spartan, Dying by Johan Tobias Sergel. Swedish, c. 1779. Terracotta. MusĂ©e du Louvre.Â
From the Louvre:
Othryades was a Spartan hero. The sole survivor of a battle, he killed himself so as not to outlive his companions. Just before he died, he engraved his victory on his shield. The lively modeling of the clay expresses the tension of his body in this final surge of pride. The statue is a rough model for the plaster that Sergel, a Swedish sculptor who had made his name in Rome, presented to obtain admission to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris in January 1779.

















