30 Millennia of Sculpture. Patrick Bade

Greek sculptor who worked with Skopas on the Mausoleum around 350 BCE. 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.

      190. Anonymous, Artemis with a Hind, called Diane of Versailles, Roman copy after an original created around 330 BCE by Leochares. Ancient Greek. Marble, height: 200 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris.

      This depiction of a strong, striding Artemis hunting with a deer by her side is thought to derive from a Greek original of the 4th century BCE. Artemis was one of the virgin goddesses, a huntress and protector of the wild and of fertility; her association with fertility made her also the goddess of childbirth. She was a twin to the god Apollo, and copies of this statue are often paired with copies of the Belvedere Apollo (fig. 189). Her dual role as a hunter and a protector of animals is seen in this piece. Although she is hunting, she is accompanied by a deer, or hind, which is under her protection. With one hand, she reaches for an arrow. The other hand has been restored and may have originally held a bow. Her energetic stride, and the movement of her short dress as she walks, is typical of the new variety of poses seen in statues of the 4th century and later.

      191. Anonymous, Dying Gaul, Roman copy after a bronze original erected by the kings of Pergamon Attalus I and Eumenes II around 240 BCE. Ancient Greek. Marble, height: 93 cm. Musei Capitolini, Rome.

      192. Anonymous, Standing Woman Draped with Child, 3rd-2nd century BCE. Ancient Near East. Terracotta, moulded in two parts, setbacks not worked, remains of white plaster and blue and red colours on the whole surface, 20.2 × 11.3 × 5.2 cm.

      193. Anonymous, Capitoline Venus, Roman copy after a Greek original created around the 3rd century BCE by Praxiteles. Ancient Greek. Marble, height: 193 cm. Musei Capitolini, Rome.

      194. Anonymous, Severed Head, Support for the left hand of a statue of a heroized warrior. 3rd-2nd century BCE. Ancient Celtic. Limestone, height: 23 cm. Musée Granet, Aix-en-Provence.

      195. Anonymous, Ludovisi Group, Roman copy after a bronze original erected by the kings of Pergamon (Turkey), Attalus I and Eumenes II, around 240 BCE. Ancient Greek. Marble, height: 211 cm. Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome.

      196. Anonymous, Shapur I Triumphing over the Roman Emperors Valerian and Philip the Arab, 260–272 CE. Ancient Near East, Naqsh-I-Rustam (near Persepolis).

      197. Anonymous, Head of Msecké, 2nd-1st century BCE. Ancient Celtic, Zehrovice (Czech Republic). Limestone, 23.5 cm. Národní Muzeum, Prague.

      Characterised by stylised decorative motifs and a strongly marked decorative angle, Celtic art developed mainly during the period of La Tene, the Celtic civilisation in the second Iron Age (c. 450–50 BCE). While the curves and conical-curves replaced the rectilinear geometry of previous eras, human representation, for so long reserved for the gods, became more and more frequent. This head, discovered in 1943, in Msecké Zehrovice, near Prague, is not a realistic portrait, but a largely stylised human figure, the moustache and the eyebrows have been carved in scrolls to meet an obvious aesthetic research. The shapes of the face are relatively flat, neither the cheeks, nor the chin of the character betray a relief, or any other search for realism. Together with bones and pottery fragments when it was discovered, this sculpture, highly characteristic of the art of the period of La Tene, and its purpose, remain real mysteries to this day.

      198. Anonymous, Wild Animal. Ancient Celtic. Private collection.

      199. Anonymous, Statuette of a Nude Woman with Articulated Arms, 2nd-1st century BCE. Ancient Near East. Alabaster and bitumen wig, 19 × 6.5 × 5.5 cm. Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin.

      200. Anonymous, The Barberini Faun, c. 220 BCE. Ancient Greek. Marble, height: 215 cm. Glyptothek, Munich.

      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.

      201. Anonymous, The Punishment of Dirce, called the “Farnese Bull”, Roman copy of an original created during the 2nd century BCE by Apollonius of Tralles and his brother Tauriscus. Ancient Greek. Marble, height: 240 cm. Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples.

      One of the largest pieces of sculpture created in antiquity, this piece was made during the 2nd century BCE in the Hellenistic period. It has all the hallmarks of Hellenistic sculpture: an elaborate assemblage of figures, dramatic action, and a pyramid-shaped composition. It was made by artists from the Greek island of Rhodes for a Roman politician. This copy decorated the Baths of Caracalla in the Roman empire. It was rediscovered there in the 16th century, and placed in the Farnese Palace, a residence of the Pope. The scene depicted is from the story of Antiope and Dirce. Antiope was the mother of twin boys, whom she was forced to abandon. They survived, but her punishment was to be the slave of her aunt, Dirce. She escaped and went to find her sons. Dirce found her and ordered her tied to a bull and trampled. Antiope was rescued by her sons, who instead inflict the punishment on Dirce. Here, the boys tie Dirce to a raging bull; her fate is clear.

      202. Anonymous, Laocoön, Roman copy after a bronze original created in Pergame (Turkey) by Agesander, Athenodoros and Polydorus around 150 BCE. Ancient Greek. Marble, height: 242 cm. Museo Pio Clementino, Vatican.

      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 giant who battle Athena on the Pergamon Altar (fig. 206).

      203. Anonymous, Sleeping Hermaphrodite, Roman copy of a Greek original of the 2nd century BCE. Ancient Greek. Marble, 169 × 89 cm (the mattress was carved in 1619 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini). Musée du Louvre, Paris.

      A young naked woman lying on a bed seems to be resting. But when seen from a different angle, she appears somewhat masculine. We are indeed facing the representation of Hermaphrodite. He was the son of Hermes and Aphrodite, and found himself with both