This marble sculpture made by Pierre Puget at the end of the 17th century tells an odd story.
Milo of Croton was an athlete in ancient times. Multiple Olympic champion, as the cup lying at his feet recalls, he was particularly pretentious to the point of claiming he could split a trunk with his hand only. Which he did ! Except that his hand got stuck into the bark. The legend tells that he ended up eaten up by wolves.
Here the artist chose to represent a lion, nobler animal. Particular importance is attached to human anatomy, drawing each muscle precisely.
But above all, Puget does everything he can to make us feel Milo’s atrocious pain. The lion’s claws dig into his flesh, his toes are tensed, his veins stick out from all sides, terror deforms his face. The athlete is completely trapped because of his vanity. A good moral lesson !