Athlete Wrestling with a Python

A muscular male nude struggles with a python, clutching its head with his outstretched hand while the snake encircles his thigh and wraps its tail around his ankle. This cast is a reduced version of a life-size sculpture exhibited in London in 1877 to great acclaim. Frederic, Lord Leighton, better known as a painter but also successful as a sculptor, was the most prominent English academic artist of the 19th century, and president of the Royal Academy for several years.