Hunt of the Calydonian Boar c. 1553 - 1555

This is Guglielmo della Porta’s bronze relief of the Hunt of the Calydonian Boar, made sometime in the 16th century. Born in Genoa, della Porta lived most of his life in Rome and was known for his sculptures which drew heavily from classical antiquity. This relief depicts a scene from Greek mythology: the Calydonian boar was sent by Artemis to ravage the region of Calydon after the king failed to honor her in his rites to the gods. In response, the king gathered the greatest heroes of Greece, including several women, to hunt the boar. While della Porta highlights classical themes, he was very much a product of the Italian Renaissance where humanist values were reviving classical ideals. His choice to represent the Calydonian boar hunt allowed him to explore the depths of human drama and physicality as the hunters engaged in mortal combat with the fearsome beast. In this context, the bronze relief becomes more than a depiction of a mythological hunt, it is a reflection on the themes of courage, mortality, and the complex relationship between humanity and the natural world.