I am ocassionally guilty of focusing on splashy marble and bronze statues, as well as (of course) vases with a bit of bathroom humour. But today I want to focus on this terracotta sleeper at the Met
While he is not flashy at first glance, a closer look reveals impressive craftsmanship and more importantly a stylistic eclecticism and experimentation typical of the late Hellenistic period of the 2nd-1st centuries B.C.
The subject (despite the broken limbs!) is clear: it is Polykleitos’ famous ‘Diadoumenos’ – a victorious athlete typing a fillet around his brow. The 5th century original had a staid contrapposto and the famous proportions of the Polykleitan canon.
This small interpretation (29 cm) is slimmer, sexier, and more dynamic! The master sculptor (likely hailing from Smyrna – modern Izmir – a famed coroplastic center in the Hellenistic period), has captured the delicate details of the hair (up top and down below) with a sharp tool when the clay was still wet. The finished surface has a nearly burnished shiny surface. Rather than a slavish copy, this is a brilliant reimagining, and a little masterpiece in its own right.
