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1000 Scupltures of Genius. Patrick Bade
Читать онлайн.Название 1000 Scupltures of Genius
Год выпуска 0
isbn 978-1-78310-933-3, 978-1-78310-407-9
Автор произведения Patrick Bade
Жанр Энциклопедии
Серия The Book
Издательство Parkstone International Publishing
77. Anonymous. Capitoline She-Wolf (Romulus and Remus), 5th century B.C.E. Bronze, h: 75 cm. Musei Capitolini, Rome (Italy). Etruscan Antiquity.
Rome emerged into greatness from a history as a small city within an Italy largely controlled by Etruscans. This historical past was not glorious enough for the Romans, however, who preferred a mythological tale of the founding of the city. In that story, two brothers, Romulus and Remus, descendents of the heroes of the Trojan War & of the god Mars, were abandoned near the Tiber River. They were suckled by a she-wolf and therefore survived. Later, they founded the city of Rome, but they quarrelled; Romulus killed Remus, and went on to rule Rome. In this piece, two babies are shown suckling at the teats of a she-wolf. The babies were added during the Renaissance, so we cannot identify the piece with certainty as a depiction of Romulus and Remus. It does, however, date to the very early years of the Roman Republic, so it may be an image of that founding myth. Ironically, the piece is the work of an Etruscan artist, reflecting the very heritage that the Romans wished to deny.
78. Anonymous. Chimera of Arezzo, c. 380–360 B.C.E. Bronze, h: 80 cm. Museo Archeologico di Firenze, Florence (Italy). Etruscan Antiquity.
The Chimera was a mythical creature, a composite of a lion’s head and body, a snake for a tail, and a second head, of a goat, emerging from its back. A powerful monster, it was thought to bestow evil upon anyone who saw it. Its origin was Lycia in Asia Minor, but this depiction of the monster comes from Etruria in Italy, which had been greatly influenced by the cultures of the Near East via trade and exchange. It showcases the metalworking talent of the Etruscans. The artist has captured the animal in a fierce roar, writhing in pain as it attacks itself, the snake-tail biting the goat-head, blood pouring from the wound. The realism of the lion’s body, with its tensed muscles and ribcage jutting through the skin, is contrasted by the decorative quality of the lion’s mane and tufted back, the fur forming a textured pattern along its body.
79. Anonymous. Statue of Aphrodite (?), Nemi (Italy), c. 350 B.C.E. Bronze, h: 50.5 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris (France). Etruscan Antiquity.
80. Anonymous. Mars from Todi, end of the 5th century B.C.E. Bronze. Musei Vaticani, Vatican City (Italy). Etruscan Antiquity.
The Etruscans were a native people of Italy, living in the area that today still bears their name: Tuscany. They enjoyed prosperity, in part because of access to rich metal resources. Their expertise in working with metal is attested by this bronze statue of a warrior in his armour, performing a libation, or liquid offering, before the battle. In his right hand he holds a shallow pouring vessel, and with his left hand he was originally leaning on his spear. A helmet would have completed the figure. In the naturalism of the rendition of the warrior, and his contrapposto stance, we see the influence of fifth-century Greece. A Greek statue would have been nude, however; the modestly-clad warrior is clearly a product of an Etruscan artist. The statue was found in Todi at the site of an ancient sanctuary dedicated to Mars. It was buried between slabs of travertine stone, lost in a collapse of some sort, which accounts for its rare state of preservation.
81. Anonymous. Battle between the Greeks and the Amazons, east frieze, Temple of Apollo Epikourios, Bassae (Greece), c. 420 B.C.E. Marble, h: 70 cm. The British Museum, London (United Kingdom). Greek Antiquity.
82. Anonymous. Amazon Frieze, Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, Bodrum (Turkey), c. 360–350 B.C.E. Marble, h: 90 cm. The British Museum, London (United Kingdom). Greek Antiquity.
83. Anonymous. Nereid 909, Nereid Monument, Xanthos (Turkey), c. 400 B.C.E. Marble, h: 140 cm. The British Museum, London (United Kingdom). Greek Antiquity.
In Greek mythology, the Nereids were a set of fifty sisters, sea-nymphs who were helpful to sailors in the Mediterranean Sea during storms. The Nereid Monument was a temple-tomb erected in Xanthos, on the coast of Asia Minor. It was a small, Ionic-style building with a carved relief on a frieze wrapping around it. Above, between the columns of the colonnade, were statues of numerous Nereids clothed in sheer chitons. The tomb was built by the local Lycian elite, but the sculpture reflects the international culture of the Hellenistic Period. In the typically dramatic style of the Hellenistic, the chiton worn by this nymph is blown by the wind and the sea, and clings to her body. Each nymph was in a different pose, seemingly captured in movement, frozen perpetually in the wind blowing off the sea.
84. Anonymous. Thanatos, Alceste, Hermes and Persephone, drum of column, Artemision, Ephesus (Turkey), c. 350–300 B.C.E. Marble, h: 155 cm. The British Museum, London (United Kingdom). Greek Antiquity.
This is the only remaining sculpted column drum from the Temple of Artemis, or Artemision, at Ephesus. The temple was one of the wonders of the ancient world, renowned both for its majestic size and for its decorative program. It was built around 550 B.C.E., then rebuilt in the fourth century, the period from which this column drum dates. The temple exemplified the Ionic order of architecture, which was the temple style of the Greek colonies of Asia Minor, where the Artemision was located. Much larger than a typical Doric temple such as the Parthenon, it measured 115 metres in length. The central building, or cella, was surrounded by a double ring of columns, and had additional rows of columns at the front and back, creating the effect of a “forest of columns”. The columns were very large, and much more ornate than those of the Doric order. The lowest drum of each column, just above the column base, was sculpted in low relief. These works of art would have been at eye level, providing a rich array of decorative narratives to surround the visitor. The overall effect of the temple must have been one of overwhelming scale and lavish decoration. Sadly, though the temple stood for hundreds of years, it is now almost completely lost. This single remaining sculpted drum stands as a testament to the skill of the artisans commissioned to build and decorate the great temple.
85. Anonymous. Maenad, copy after a Greek original created around c. 370–330 B.C.E. by Skopas. Marble, h: 45 cm. Skultpturensammlung, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Dresden (Germany). Greek Antiquity.
Skopas was one of the great sculptors of the fourth century B.C.E. He was known for the deeply-carved, expressive eyes of his subjects, and the resulting sense of emotionality in his works. In this dancing Maenad, thought to be a copy of a work of Skopas, we see one of Skopas’ important innovations: the movement conveyed by the piece. Far more than a gesture or a weight-shift, the maenad’s movement is a violent, swirling dance, shown especially in the twist of her neck and the swirl of her gown. Maenads were worshippers of Dionysos, the god of wine. His followers were thought to engage in drunken, orgiastic rituals, dancing in an ecstatic frenzy.
86. Anonymous. Apollo Sauroktonos, Hellenistic copy after a Greek original created during the 4th century B.C.E. by Praxiteles. Marble. Museo Pio Clementino, Vatican (Italy). Greek Antiquity.
87. Anonymous. Aphrodite of Knidos, copy after a Greek original created around 350 B.C.E. by Praxiteles.