30 Millennia of Sculpture. Patrick Bade
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was a somewhat older contemporary of Phidias and Polykleitos.
151. Anonymous, Zeus or Poseidon, Cape Artemision, c. 460 BCE. Ancient Greek. Bronze, height: 209 cm. National Archaeological Museum, Athens.
152. Anonymous, Riace Bronze B, Roman copy after a Greek original created around 450 BCE by Phidias. Ancient Greek. Bronze, height: 197 cm. Museo Nazionale, Reggio Calabria.
A sunken treasure, this bronze statue was pulled from the sea, having been lost in a shipwreck in antiquity. Ironically, its loss in the sea resulted in it being one of the few bronze statues to survive from antiquity, since it was never melted down for its valuable metal. The warrior is one of a pair that has been attributed to the 5th century BCE, or High Classical Period. In this piece we can see the ideals of High Classical period sculpture fully realised. At the same time realistic and idealistic, the sculpture shows a lifelike, but perfect, body, each muscle articulated, the figure frozen in a relaxed, life-like pose. The solid, athletic body reflects the ideal of a young athlete, although this figure represents an older warrior, who once would have held a spear and a shield. The nudity of the figure also alludes to the athlete, who in Greece would have practised or competed in the nude, and also to the mythical hero, a reminder that the man represented here was no ordinary warrior, but a semi-divine hero, an appropriate offering for one of the great sanctuaries of the Greek world.
153. Anonymous, Capitoline She-Wolf (Romulus and Remus), 5th century BCE. Ancient Etruscan. Bronze, height: 75 cm. Musei Capitolini, Rome.
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 and 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.
154. Anonymous, Bird, Posed, Head in Profile, 5th century BCE. Ancient Celtic, Sanctuary Roquepertuse, Velaux (France). Limestone, height: 60 cm. Museum of Archaeology Mediterranean, Marseille.
155. Anonymous, Statue on a Socle of Darius the Great, early 5th century BCE. Ancient Near East. Graywacke, height: 236 cm (supposed original height: 350 cm). Iran Bastan Museum, Tehran.
156. Anonymous, Doryphoros, Roman replica of Greek original created around 440 BCE by Polykleitos. Ancient Greek. Marble, height: 196 cm. The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis.
The Doryphoros is one of the most famous sculptures of ancient Greece. It embodies Polykleitos’ ambition to illustrate in a single work, the ideal proportions of the human body. Yet the work we admire today is a Roman replica of a bronze original made by a contemporary of Phidias. The work owes its name to the fact that the young man kept in his left hand a spear, now missing, Doryphoros in Greek meaning ‘spear carrier’. Defining the canons of male beauty, he evokes both the Hellenic deal of the athlete and the soldier. Traditionally, Polykleitos is recognised as the first artist to use the contrapposto in which the sculptor immortalised the model. This counterpose, which gives more flexibility over traditional hieratic sculptures, is used to represent a man standing with both legs with most of his weight on one foot, while the other one is at rest, slightly bent while his shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs. This posture, which gives an impression of contrast between movement and rest, crossed the centuries and left its mark on many works, as witnessed by the David of Michelangelo (fig. 482).
157. Anonymous, Wounded Amazon, Roman copy after a Greek original created around 440–430 BCE by Polykleitos. Ancient Greek. Marble, height: 202 cm. Musei Capitolini, Rome.
The Amazons are known from Greek mythology as great warriors. Like the flipside of the Greek world, in Amazon society it was the women who hunted and fought wars; in some versions of the myth no men were allowed in their society, in other versions, men were present, but charged with domestic duties. In Greek art, Amazons are usually shown in battle against the Greeks. Since the women warriors represented a reversal of the norms of Greek society, it is thought that the images of Amazons may have been metaphors of the Persians, enemies of the Greeks, inhabitants of the east, and “others” in the same way the mythological Amazons were unknown, mysterious enemies of the Greeks.
158. Anonymous, Goddesses, east pediment, Parthenon, Athens, c. 438–432 BCE. Ancient Greek. Marble, height: 130 cm. The British Museum, London.
Most of this pediment was lost when the temple was converted into a Christian church and an apse was added to the east end. This group of goddesses survives, however, and illustrates why the Parthenon’s decoration is seen as the pinnacle of Greek architectural sculpture. The triangular shape of the pediment can be seen in this group, which would have occupied most of one of the corners. The problem of how to fill a triangular space has been solved with mastery here: the three goddesses lounge together, sitting, squatting, and reclining in a relaxed group, their poses naturally filling the angled space. A far cry from the straight, frontal figures of the Archaic period, these bodies bend, twist, reach and lean, their sheer drapery serving only to accentuate the curves of their bodies.
159. Anonymous, A Lapith Tackles a Fleeing Centaur and Prepares to Strike a Decisive Blow, south metope № 27, Parthenon, Athens, c. 446–438 BCE. Ancient Greek. Marble, height: 135 cm. The British Museum, London.
The Parthenon, part of the Acropolis sanctuary to Athena in Athens, is seen as a paradigm of classical architecture and the pinnacle of classical architectural sculpture. Its sculptural program included two pediments, an interior Ionic frieze and exterior Doric frieze, with sculpted metopes on all four sides, each showing a mythical battle. This metope is from the south side, which illustrated the Centauramachy, or battle between the Centaurs and Lapiths. Here, a Lapith man wrestles a Centaur. Both figures are shown actively straining, pulling in opposite directions, creating a strong sense of dynamism in the piece. That dynamic force is emphasised by the folds of the Lapith’s robe that spills out behind him, also enlivening the background of the piece. Dramatic movement, and patterning such as that created by the folds of cloth, along with the addition of paint, would make the metope more visually arresting to the viewer far below on the ground.
160. Anonymous, Mounted Riders, slab No. 38, north frieze, Parthenon, Athens, c. 438–432 BCE. Ancient Greek. Marble, height: 106 cm. The British Museum, London.
The Parthenon in Athens is a Doric-style building, but has the distinction of including an Ionic-style, continuous frieze around the cella, and the structure inside the exterior ring of columns. The Ionic frieze, wrapping unbroken around the cella, provided sculptors with the perfect opportunity to depict a long procession. The procession shown is the Panathenaic festival, the annual religious celebration of Athena, during which Athenians would climb to the Acropolis to present a new gown, or peplos, to the goddess’s cult statue. The long line of the frieze is kept visually interesting by varying the members of the procession: some are shown walking, some leading animals,