Bellerophon Taming Pegasus, Bronze sculpture at Columbia University Law School, United States.
Bellerophon Taming Pegasus is a bronze sculpture by Jacques Lipchitz in which Bellerophon, standing on a high plinth, ties a rope around the neck of the thrashing Pegasus, whose legs, tail and wings splay around the central figures. The 23-ton work measures about 30 by 28 feet and stands on a 27-foot pedestal above the west entrance of Jerome Greene Hall on Revson Plaza.
Architect Max Abramovitz commissioned the sculpture for Columbia Law School in 1964. Lipchitz died on May 26, 1973, and his widow Yulla oversaw the final casting. Cast in bronze at Pietrasanta, Italy, and shipped in pieces to New York, it was dedicated on November 28, 1977, above the west entrance of Jerome Greene Hall.
The piece interprets the Greek mythology of Bellerophon controlling Pegasus, representing the relationship between human determination and natural forces.
The sculpture sits above the west entrance of Jerome Greene Hall on Revson Plaza and is visible from many points around the campus. Visitors can view the work anytime from outside since it occupies a public outdoor space.
At 23 tons and roughly 30 by 28 feet, it stands on a 27-foot pedestal, making it New York City's second-largest metal statue after the Statue of Liberty as of 2022. Lipchitz told his patron not to expect "a blinded lady with scales and all those things" and promised to think of something else.
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