An Athlete Wrestling with a Python (1877) by Frederic Leighton

Detail of 'The Quest of Tarzan' by Virgil Finlay (1941)

Detail of 'A God Named Kroo' by Virgil Finlay (1954)

The Graveyard Heart by Virgil Finlay (1964)

In 1877, Frederic Leighton made the sculpture 'An Athlete Wrestling with a Python'. A 'sketch' in cast material is also in the Tate collection. At least three times Virgil Finlay used the image of 'An Athlete Wrestling with a Python' in his published drawings.

The Virgil Finlay drawing illustrating the story 'The Quest of Tarzan' by Edgar Rice Burroughs was published in Argosy Weekly, 1941. The Virgil Finlay drawing illustrating the story 'A God Named Kroo' by Henry Kuttner was published in Fantastic Story Magazine, Summer 1954. The Virgil Finlay drawing illustrating the story 'The Graveyard Heart' by Roger Zelazny was published in Fantastic, March 1964.

Bronze sculpture by Frederic Leighton, 1877 Tate, London

Engraving by W. Biscombe Gardner The Magazine of Art, 1878

The earliest drawing for 'The Quest of Tarzan' sets Tarzan in a wrestling scene on a ship. In the drawing 'A God Named Kroo' the snake is replaced by an ankh, and in the drawing 'The Graveyard Heart' fire is added. This latter drawing is the most complete one, and also includes the base of the statue.

References:

• Tarzan on this Site.
• A God Named Kroo on this Site.
• Sculpture in the Tate collection.
  
• Virgil Finlay's Tarzan at John Coulthart's {feuilleton}.