after Pierre Lepautre (1660–1744), F.Barbadienne fondeur (1810–1892)

Pierre Lepautre's bronze composition depicts a key scene from Virgil's Aeneid: the flight of Aeneas from the burning Troy, with his elderly father, Anchises, on his shoulder, while his son, Ascanius, follows them. The hero's forward-moving motion and the helpless weight of the father highlight the Roman ideal of pietas – family and moral duty. The close relationship between the figures and the diagonal composition carry the tension of danger and determination. The work is a 19th-century edition produced in the foundry of F. Barbedienne, which conveys the tradition of French academic sculpture at a high technical level.