Olympic Victor Monuments and Greek Athletic ArtHyde, Walter Woodburn
History
Olympic Victor Monuments and Greek Athletic Art
Hyde, Walter Woodburn
Olympics; Sculpture, Greek; Sports -- Greece
It has been generally assumed that the original group of statues at
Pharsalos was of bronze (though we have no proof that it may not have
been of marble), while the one at Delphi was copied almost, if not
quite, simultaneously in marble[2115]—so faithfully, indeed, that even
the proper marble support to the figure of Agias was omitted. While
Homolle notes the absence of this support as evidence of the marble
statue being an exact copy of the original bronze, Gardner argues that
this proves a free imitation, where the support was not needed.[2116]
The inexact modeling of the hair, since hair can not be rendered so
perfectly in marble as in bronze, has been adduced as a sign that the
marble statue was a copy of the bronze original. This in itself is a
weak argument, since the slight and sketchy treatment of the hair of
the _Hermes_ of Praxiteles—which is, for the most part, merely blocked
out[2117]—might with just as good reason be used as evidence that that
statue is only a copy, especially as we know that Praxiteles also
worked in bronze.[2118] The omission of the artist’s signature on the
base of the _Agias_ has also been taken to indicate that some pupil of
Lysippos (Lysistratos, for example) did the work of transference in the
master’s studio under his supervision and doubtless from his model.
Despite all such arguments, which prove little, it must be admitted
that the careless finish of the Delphian statue is not what we should
expect in a masterpiece by so renowned a sculptor as Lysippos, as
the statue can not be said to be a first-rate work of art. But that
it was made under the direct supervision of Lysippos can hardly be
questioned. It seems reasonable to believe that Daochos, who employed
the great artist in the one case, would not have trusted a mere copyist
in the other, or one who was free to indulge his individual taste
in details,[2119] especially as the statue was to be placed in so
prominent a place as Delphi. He probably gave the orders for the two
statues at the same time, and Lysippos must have had the oversight of
the Delphian one. So it seems best to regard the statue of Agias as a
“double,” and not as a copy in the later sense of the word. The custom
of making such doubles goes back at least to the middle of the sixth
century B. C. Thus the statue of the _Delian Apollo_ by Angelion and
Tektaios, known as the “_Healer_” (Οὔλιος),[2120] had a “double” in
both Delphi[2121] and Athens.[2122] Similarly the _Philesian Apollo_ of
Branchidai near Miletos, by the elder Kanachos,[2123] had a double in
Thebes known as the _Ismenian Apollo_, which Pausanias says differed
from the one in Miletos neither in form nor size, but only in material,
for it was of cedar-wood,[2124] while the Milesian one was of bronze.
Furtwaengler[2125] has demonstrated that contemporary doubles of works
by Polykleitos, Pheidias, and Praxiteles existed. The case of the
statues of the athlete Agias at Pharsalos and at Delphi is paralleled
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account