Capitoline Wolf. The Capitoline Wolf is a bronze sculpture depicting a scene from the legend of the founding of Rome.
The sculpture shows a she-wolf suckling the mythical twin founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. According to the legend, when King Numitor, grandfather of the twins, was overthrown by his brother Amulius in Alba Longa, the usurper ordered them to be cast into the Tiber River.
They were rescued by a she-wolf who cared for them until a herdsman, Faustulus, found and raised them. The age and origin of the Capitoline Wolf are controversial.
The statue was long thought to be an Etruscan work of the 5th century BC, with the twins added in the late 15th century AD, probably by the sculptor Antonio Pollaiolo. However, radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dating has found that the wolf portion of the statue is likely to have been cast between 1021 and 1153.
The image of the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus is a symbol of Rome since ancient times and one of the most recognizable icons of ancient mythology. The sculpture has been housed since 1471 in the Palazzo dei Conservatori on the Campidoglio, Rome, Italy, and there are many replicas in various places around the world. The sculpture is somewhat larger than life-size, standing 75 centimetres high and 114 centimetres long. The wolf is depicted in a tense, watchful pose, with alert ears and glaring eyes which are watching for danger. By
The sculpture shows a she-wolf suckling the mythical twin founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. According to the legend, when King Numitor, grandfather of the twins, was overthrown by his brother Amulius in Alba Longa, the usurper ordered them to be cast into the Tiber River.
They were rescued by a she-wolf who cared for them until a herdsman, Faustulus, found and raised them. The age and origin of the Capitoline Wolf are controversial.
The statue was long thought to be an Etruscan work of the 5th century BC, with the twins added in the late 15th century AD, probably by the sculptor Antonio Pollaiolo. However, radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dating has found that the wolf portion of the statue is likely to have been cast between 1021 and 1153.
The image of the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus is a symbol of Rome since ancient times and one of the most recognizable icons of ancient mythology. The sculpture has been housed since 1471 in the Palazzo dei Conservatori on the Campidoglio, Rome, Italy, and there are many replicas in various places around the world. The sculpture is somewhat larger than life-size, standing 75 centimetres high and 114 centimetres long. The wolf is depicted in a tense, watchful pose, with alert ears and glaring eyes which are watching for danger. By
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