1000 Erotic Works of Genius. Victoria Charles
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between 340–320 B. C. E.)
A Greek sculptor who worked with Skopas on the Mausoleum around 350 B. C. E. Leochares executed statues in gold and ivory of Philip of Macedon’s family; the king placed them in the Philippeum at Olympia. Along with Lysippos, he made a group in bronze at Delphi representing a lion-hunt of Alexander. We hear of other statues by Leochares of Zeus, Apollo and Ares. The statuette in the Vatican, representing Ganymede being carried away by an eagle, originally poorly executed, though considerably restored, corresponds closely with Pliny’s description of a group by Leochares.
46. Anonymous, Apoxyomenos, copy after a bronze original created by Lysippos, c. 330 B. C. E. Marble, h: 205 cm. Museo Pio Clementino, Vatican (Italy).
In the fourth century, standing male statues of idealised athletes remained a popular subject for sculpture. The poses became more varied, however, as sculptors experimented with forms that could be viewed from multiple angles. The Apoxyomenos, or Man scraping Himself, is an example of innovation of pose. His right arm extends forward, reaching out of the plane in which the rest of his body lies. Before exercising, a Greek athlete would apply oil to his body. He would then return to the bath house, after engaging in sport, and scrape the oil off himself. The subject of the Apoxyomenos is in the process of scraping himself clean.
47. Anonymous, Ludovisi Group, Roman copy after a bronze original erected by the Kings of Pergamon Attalus I and Eumenes II, c. 240 B. C. E. Marble, h: 211 cm. Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome (Italy).
48. Anonymous, The Three Graces, Roman copy of a Greek original created during the 2nd century B. C. E., restored in 1609. Marble, 119 × 85 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris (France).
The Graces, or Charities, were three goddesses named Beauty, Mirth, and Cheer. They oversaw happy events such as dances and banquets. They were companions to Aphrodite, providing the happiness that accompanies love. Like Aphrodite, they were often depicted in the nude, and often, as in this example, dancing in a circle. In each, we see the familiar shift in weight, or contrapposto, developed in the fifth century. However, the composition of this piece is far more elaborate than any High Classical sculpture. It was not until the Hellenistic period that complex groups of multiple figures were depicted in free-standing sculpture. The figures are tied together by their embrace, unifying the piece, yet they face different directions, so that the sculpture would be interesting from any angle from which it was viewed.
49. Anonymous, Dying Gaul, Roman copy after a bronze original erected by the Kings of Pergamon Attalus I and Eumenes II, c. 240 B. C. E. Marble, h: 93 cm. Musei Capitolini, Rome (Italy).
50. Anonymous, Zeus and Porphyrion during the Battle with the Giants, Pedestal Frieze, Great Altar of Zeus, Pergamon, c. 180 B. C. E. Marble, h: 230 cm. Pergamonmuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin (Germany).
51. Anonymous, Erotic Scene from the Back of a Stele Depicting Dionysos, Hellenistic period. Archeological Museum, Nicosia (Cyprus).
52. Anonymous, Zeus and Leda. Oil lamp. National Archeological Museum, Athens (Greece).
53. Anonymous, Laocoön, Roman copy after a bronze original made in Pergamon, c. 150 B. C. E. Marble, h: 242 cm. Museo Pio Clementino, Vatican (Italy).
Laocoön was a Trojan priest. When the Achaeans, who were holding Troy under siege, left the famous Trojan horse on the beach, Laocoön tried to warn the Trojan leaders against bringing it into the city, fearing it was a trap. Athena, acting as helper and protector of the Greeks, punished Laocoön for his interference. She had him and his two sons attacked by giant snakes. In this famous sculpture group, probably a Roman copy of the Hellenistic original, one son breaks free of the snakes, looking back to see his father and brother being killed. The Baroque style of the piece ties it to the Pergamon school. It exhibits the same drama, seen in the straining muscles and the faces contorted in pain. In fact, the pose of Laocoön seems to echo that of the giants battling the Olympic gods on the Pergamon Altar.
54. Agasias of Ephesus, The Fighting Warrior, known as the Borghese Gladiator, c. 100 B. C. E. Marble, h: 199 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris (France).
This Roman copy of a Greek original dating, perhaps, to the fourth century B. C. E., was rediscovered in the early seventeenth century and acquired by Cardinal Borghese. A wealthy relative of Pope Paul V, he collected hundreds of statues, many of which were ancient, some of which were contemporary pieces in the style of Antiquity. Pieces in the Borghese collection often suffered from unfortunate restorations, though this piece seems to have escaped unmarred. It was later purchased by Napoléon Bonaparte, a relative by marriage of the Borghese family. In that way it made its way to Paris. It was long thought to represent a gladiator, but more recently it has been acknowledged that it could as easily be an athlete or warrior. Much has been made of the ideal musculature and anatomy of the subject. The artist clearly sought to emulate as realistically as possible the form, stance, and sinews of the lunging figure.
55. Anonymous, Sleeping Hermaphrodite, Roman copy of a Greek original from the 2nd century B. C. E. (?), mattress carved in 1619 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Marble, 169 × 89 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris (France).
56. Anonymous, Barberini Faun, copy after a Hellenistic original, c. 200 B. C. E. Marble, h: 215 cm. Glyptothek, Munich (Germany).
The wealth of the Hellenistic period meant that many people could afford sculpture for their private houses and gardens. Consequently, more profane, even erotic, subjects were introduced to the repertoire of Greek art. Here, a sleeping, and probably drunk, satyr lounges sprawled out on an animal skin. The pose is unabashedly erotic, the figure’s nudity no longer signalling simply that he is a hero, athlete, or god, but rather suggesting his sexual availability. The naturalistic and idealised manner of depiction of the body of the satyr is a legacy of High Classical sculpture.
57. Anonymous, Winner Athlete, 1st century C. E. Marble, h: 148 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris (France).
58. Anonymous, Statuette of a Standing Goddess, Babylonia, 2nd century B. C. E. Alabaster, gold and ruby, h: 24.8 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris (France).
59. Anonymous, Fragment of a Rhyton Showing an Amorous Embrace, 2nd century B. C. E.
60. Anonymous, Aphrodite of Melos, known as Vénus de Milo, c. 100 B. C. E. Marble, h: 202 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris (France).
The Aphrodite of Melos, or Vénus de Milo, is an original Greek sculpture dating to the Hellenistic period. It was discovered in a field along with other sculptural fragments, including a separate arm holding an apple, which belongs with this figure. The apple is probably a reference to the mythical “Judgment of Paris”. In that tale, the goddess of Discord tossed a golden apple inscribed “for the loveliest” towards the goddesses Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera. The young Trojan prince, Paris, was asked to decide which goddess should be awarded the apple. Each tried to bribe Paris but he chose Aphrodite, who offered him the love of the most beautiful mortal woman in the world.