I’ve been thinking about tritons lately, those marine hybrid creatures that so delightfully combine manly torsos with elaborate fishy tails. The essential flexibility of these imaginary bodies is their best selling point and their popularity flourished in the late Hellenistic period – bounded not by corporeal limits, only artistic flair. Their dramatic inclusion in sculptural
While sharing many characteristics with his archaic kin, the so-called ‘Rampin rider’ is on the whole far more lively with a beguiling dip and tilt to the head, extraordinary plaits and trimmed beard, amused doe-eyed expression, and small asymmetries throughout. The head was found on the Akropolis in 1877 and was later donated to the
’Tis the time for feasting (and hunkering) in much of the Northern hemisphere. As it was for Herakles in his later career, when he had more time to carouse. And this stage of the hero’s life – athletic action man gone to seed – was explored artistically with great relish beginning in the later 4th
Is there any way to overestimate the immense impact of the Persian Wars on Athenian (even panHellenic) consciousness and self-determination? Shown here in relief (not such a big one, just over 50 cm tall), the city’s patron goddess is helmeted and standing in repose, one hand on her hip, and the other grasping the butt
This miniature, full-length rendition of Demosthenes – that great Athenian statesman and orator – is a frequently overlooked masterpiece. His chiton reveals sloped shoulders and the distinctly unathletic body that famously prevented him from gymnastic pursuits as a child and pushed him into a career as an orator. As part of that precocious training, he
I count this as one of the most glorious (and innovative?) of all Roman imperial portraits: Caracalla, with his fierce glower in the years just before he became sole-ruler (more on that later…). He arguably inherited an empire already on a downward slide. Born in Gaul, even his parentage spoke to a vast territory, Septimius
It could be argued that the very pose and activity of this delightfully carved Nike was chosen just to highlight the skills of an extremely talented sculptor. Because that carving is nothing less than the work of a true virtuoso. Originally part of the balustrade partially surrounding the tiny Temple of Athena Nike on the
Staggering in terms of preservation and beauty, undeniably masterful bronze working (and those unsettling eyes!), this head of Augustus is in every survey book on Roman art and portraiture worth its salt. It shows Augustus, the freshly minted princeps of Rome, as a young man, which he was at the time of this portrait’s manufacture
Many are familiar with Alexander the Great and his distinctive portraiture. And indeed the young genius was idolized from the time of his death to Napoleon and beyond! Shown here is Pompey the Great (Pompey Magnus), who built his military reputation young and forcefully. Before he formally added Magnus to his name (deliberately echoing Alexander
Magnificent in every way, this centaur is full of exquisite mid-Hellenistic craftsmanship. When Alexander’s successors came westward to roost, they brought back precious metals and some most peculiar Persian aristocratic modes of drinking. Just look at this fellow, full of pathos and glower (face shown better in the second photo). His festive gilded wreath places
This is a most excellent bronze, and so far thus attracted far less attention that it deserves! The subject is clear – Herakles resting after the labours that ran him ragged over most of the known world and beyond. In my view this is one of the very finest representations of the hero at rest
While sharing many characteristics with his archaic kin, the so-called ‘Rampin rider’ is on the whole far more lively with a beguiling dip and tilt to the head, extraordinary plaits and trimmed beard, amused doe-eyed expression, and small asymmetries throughout. The head was found on the Akropolis in 1877 and was later donated to the
Hailing from Tiberius’ famous grotto in Sperlonga (south of Rome) this is Diomedes (that gorgeous hand!) absconding with the palladion of Troy (its protectress and cult statue of Athena carved from wood) as that city was pillaged. There is a lot to be said about Sperlonga and the Trojan palladion. But not here! What I
She is not necessarily my favourite of the Athenian Akropolis korai (I tend to prefer her jollier sisters), and sometimes referred to as “sullen”, but her more solemn beauty is important in so many ways. While her format (standing, draped maiden) is familiar from the decades long tradition of glorious sculpted maidens erected on the
Commodus was not necessarily a deranged, power-hungry sadist, but this lazy-eyed, buffed up portrait of the emperor wearing the attributes of Hercules certainly does beg the question… It’s a terrific spectacle, found in the city of Rome on the Esquiline and now in the Musei Capitolini. The emperor’s lush cap of curls is covered by
Anchoring one side of the Met’s luminous sculpture court is an enormous sarcophagus with a quintessentially Roman take on eternal love. Flanked by two imposing lion heads and surrounded by a bucolic retinue, the main scene is mythological, with Selene (moon goddess) being pulled across the sky in a chariot, gazing down on her beloved
For much of its ancient Greece was a ‘Thalassocracy’ – its settlements clustered close to the coast and inhabitants living and dying by the sea’s bounty and inherent dangers. It is difficult to fully comprehend how the Mediterranean determined daily habits and religion, drove innovation and warfare, and facilitated migration and trade. The behaviors and
There are a lot of ancient representations of Aphrodite to have survived, but this important terracotta one is frequently ignored these days – passed over to focus on her splashier marble sisters. Currently in Berlin, she is usually known as the ‘von Heyl Aphrodite’, acquired by the Berlin Antikensammlung in an auction of the von
Movement and three-dimensionality are words commonly bandied about when it comes to the sculptural innovations of the Hellenistic period, and with this little beauty in the Met, it’s not empty art historical jargon! Although she is small (ca. 20 cm), the ‘Baker dancer’ (as she is often referred to, after the bequest that fortuitously landed
Napoleon had a keen eye for beautiful pilfered things to bring back to his capital city, and (in my view) this is one of the best! Known as the “Borghese Krater”, it is a mammoth (nearly 2 meters tall!) vase sculpted out of Pentelic marble, and it is a marvel to behold. Rollicking around the
Imperious is the first word that this extraordinary terracotta bust of Juno brings to mind. Now displayed at the Villa Giulia in Rome, she was found in a Falsiscan sanctuary at Celle, and dates to ca. 380 B.C. Sumptuously robed and crowned, the queen of the Olympian pantheon gazes somewhat down her aquiline nose at
Full of swagger and pre-Caracallan glower, this is one of my favourite portraits of all time, showing a young Roman military man (identity unknown) likely from the mid-2nd century A.D. There is so much to love here: the cultivated, designer stubble, feathery eyebrows, assertive turn of the head, and those barely parted, full lips. He
Spring is in the air and the waterfowl are getting frisky, which brings to mind a spicy Greek myth that struck has struck a chord with artists for the past 2500 years: Zeus’ seduction Leda. The famously philandering Olympian god transformed himself into a variety of exciting things to court and abduct young beauties. And
Striking, isn’t it, that a princess with the most tragic life and death (beware of lecherous uncles…dirty Domitian, I’m looking at you!) has one of the sweetest, most appealing portraits of the period?When the ladies of the imperial court presented themselves with fancy (sometimes freaky) fashion hairdos piled high over their aged brows, her restrained
Sprightly and powerful in profile, this dancer is a joy! All buoyant curves and sinuous lines, for a relatively small bronze (18.7 cm tall) there is a lot going on here, and a few unanswered questions… If something doesn’t seem quite ‘classical’ about her at first glance, that’s because she was produced in Etruria (modern
Whether they are shown as stiff little adults or more realistically, children in ancient art (especially in funerary art) are a tricky thing for us modern viewers. Somehow there is an immediate, visceral awareness that they have long since passed away – obvious, but not always such a gut-punch when looking at their grown-up counterparts.
She is shiny, she is pretty, and she is a star of the Capitoline Museums! Excavated during the Lanciani’s late 19th century excavations of the Horti Lamiani (the decadent pleasure garden of the Republican period subsumed under imperial control in the 1st century A.D.), the so-called “Esquiline Venus” is one of many important sculptures found
Deep in the Peloponnesian wilderness, high on a mountainous crag at Bassai, is a wild and wonky temple. Iktinos, who had played a major role in the design of the Parthenon some decades before, gave himself free reign here, combining Doric and Ionic architectural traditions and introducing (perhaps) the first Corinthian capital. The construction took
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
All hail, Hera, the queen of the Olympian gods, long-suffering (and occasionally vengeful) wife of Zeus, revered throughout the Greek world. Found in Olympia by the German excavation team in the late 19th century at the Temple of Hera there, this is a colossal (52 cm tall – double life sized) early Archaic head, dating
This is special little bronze (H. 7.1 cm): a very early and spatially sophisticated representation of a seated man. It hails from the Geometric period in Greece (mid-8th century B.C.), likely from a Peloponnesian workshop, and has been with the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore since the 1920’s. Although at first glance it is simple
What happens when you transform the face of a pudgy young potentate into that of a dour old military leader? A peculiar portrait, indeed! The head is now in the Cleveland Museum of Art, acquired in the 1920’s when it was attached erroneously to a toga-draped body. The peculiarities alluded to are the weird tilt
This perfect little ivory foot at the Met is only 14.3 centimetres long, and exquisitely detailed both anatomically and iconographically. It is carved in exacting detail, replete with cuticles, toe-nails, ankle-bones, and knuckle-creases and on the whole invitingly tactile as far as feet go. The Greek-style sandal too, shows extreme sensitivity – the delicate krepides
Hellenistic in origin and striking a chord with an appreciative Roman audience, this statue group has all the things! (and not one of them politically correct…) Shown is an amorous (to be polite) satyr grasping at the voluptuous body of a resisting hermaphrodite (in the classical world, the mythical offspring of Hermes and Aphrodite with
The colossal kouros of Samos is remarkable in many ways – it’s sheer size (nearly 5.3 meters tall), relatively recent date of discovery (body in 1980 and head in 1984), the benign ‘archaic smile’ on his lips, and the soft quality of his flesh – a counterpoint to the almost architecturally structured kouroi of mainland
Mimesis on my mind, and gravitating towards bronze today. If the artistic reproduction of reality was the goal, bronze was king, and it had been since atleast the Early Classical period. Life sized bronzes do not survive in great quantities (when they do they are spectacular), but literary evidence indicates that the most acclaimed of
One doesn’t see ancient life-sized terracotta sculptures every day, and this is perhaps the most remarkable to have survived. This remarkable bust was found between Pozzuoli and Cumae in the 19th century and was likely produced locally during the mid-first century B.C. Art history survey courses understandably harp on about Roman ‘verism’ and the ‘warts
With all the beautiful bodies to ogle, it is easy to overlook the extraordinary representations of animals from Classical Athens (and beyond). It is absolutely clear that ancient Greeks had far more intimate appreciation of animals than most of us do today. I’m showing this old stalwart, the over life-sized head of a spirited horse
The intermittent discoveries of spectacular ancient bronzes have a way of reminding us just how much we’re missing from antiquity and igniting the imagination… This head with assertively bushy beard, tousled hair and intense glare, was excavated by a Bulgarian team in 2004, and most likely represents Seuthes III. The Thracian king ruled the the
The early Greek colonists of Sicily were horse-mad and temple-crazy, and conspicuous consumption on took its most grandiose form on the numerous Doric temples they erected. Selinus (modern Selinunte) was the the western most of the Greek colonies, founded in the second half of the 7th century B.C., spread across two craggy hills over-looking the
Herakles/Hercules was special in the Greek and Roman worlds. He was as famous for his excessive vices as he was for his heroics, and he applied himself with equal dedication to both: a glutton, an incorrigible womanizer, and frequently a drunkard. The life of the party, even though he could have some serious explaining (and
Used to render the divine flesh of cult statues in ancient Greece and Rome, there is a sort of otherworldly warmth to ivory that lands differently to carved stone. The survival of ivory sculpture is rare, and of life-sized statuary practically unheard of. This most miraculous survival now at the Palazzo Massimo in Rome preserves
You might not have heard of Juba II or Volubilis, but this over life-sized bronze portrait somehow sums up the man’s impossible life – a mix of early tragedy, power, and making things work in a tight spot. Juba was born as the prince of Numidia and was only a toddler when his father committed
This marble portrait head (the big bust it’s perched on is post-antique, so I’ve ruthlessly cropped it) found near Otricoli and later entering the famed Torlonia collection is the very finest of its kind. Republican portraits of its ilk are usually described as ‘veristic’, and their popularity seems to have drawn on their ability to
Ever heard of Aphrodisias’ “Blue Horse”? If not, you’ve been missing out! It’s an insane sculpture (sculptural group, really) in every way, originally erected in the city’s Civil Basilica, where the lower course of the L-shaped base remains, inscribed “The people set up the Troilos, and the horse, and the Achilles” – terrifically helpful because
With powerful, bunched musculature (like a pillowcase packed full of bars of soap!) this impressive red torso at the Met is among my favorites, in subject matter and material. He is one of a number of Imperial Roman copies of centaurs from a (presumably) Hellenistic prototype, with the most famous in the Musei Capitolini: a
Hairstyles in Roman society ‘trickled down’, with subjects across the empire adopting fashions ‘set’ by the imperial family, diffused far and wide by a carefully constructed imperial image in a variety of media. And for this particular catastrophe I blame Livia!
Caligula has been the subject of press hatchet jobs from the 1st century A.D. through the 21st century, branded one of the “bad” Roman emperors: tyrannical, cruel, perverted, insane, and convinced of his own divinity. This surviving portrait in Copenhagen is often hailed as evidence of his madness, on account of the partially preserved pigment
One of Hera’s epithets was “leukolenos,” or “white-limbed” and I find it delectably appropriate for this metope from Temple E at Selinunte in Sicily. Magna Graecia was flush with natural resources, but good quality white marble was not one of them. Faced with this dearth of raw materials, acrolithic sculpture (meaning composite, with marble combined