sculptor intentionally designed the work to tease the spectator, imbu-
ing his partially draped Aphrodite with a sexuality absent from Prax-
iteles’ entirely nude image of the goddess.
BARBERINI FAUNArchaic statues smile at their viewers, and
even when Classical statues look away from the viewer they are
always awake and alert. Hellenistic sculptors often portrayed sleep.
The suspension of consciousness and the entrance into the fantasy
world of dreams—the antithesis of the Classical ideals of rationality
and discipline—had great appeal for them. This newfound interest
can be seen in a statue of a drunken, restlessly sleeping satyr (a semi-
human follower of Dionysos) known as the Barberini Faun (FIG.
5-84) after the Italian cardinal who once owned it. The statue was
found in Rome in the 17th century and restored (not entirely accu-
rately) by Gianlorenzo Bernini, the great Italian Baroque sculptor
(see Chapter 24). Bernini no doubt felt that this dynamic statue in the
Pergamene manner was the work of a kindred spirit. The satyr has
consumed too much wine and has thrown down his panther skin on
a convenient rock and then fallen into a disturbed, intoxicated sleep.
His brows are furrowed, and one can almost hear him snore.Eroticism also comes to the fore in this statue. Although men had
been represented naked in Greek art for hundreds of years, Archaic
kouroi and Classical athletes and gods do not exude sexuality. Sensual-
ity surfaced in the works of Praxiteles and his followers in the fourth
centuryBCE. But the dreamy and supremely beautiful Hermes play-
fully dangling grapes before the infant Dionysos (FIG. 5-63) has noth-
ing of the blatant sexuality of the Barberini Faun,whose wantonly
spread legs focus attention on his genitals. Homosexuality was com-
mon in the man’s world of ancient Greece. It is not surprising that
when Hellenistic sculptors began to explore the sexuality of the hu-
man body, they turned their attention to both men and women.
DEFEATED BOXER Although Hellenistic sculptors tackled an
expanded range of subjects, they did not abandon such traditional
themes as the Greek athlete. But they often rendered the old subjects
in novel ways. This is certainly true of the magnificent bronze statue
(FIG. 5-85) of a seated boxer, a Hellenistic original found in Rome
and perhaps at one time part of a group. The boxer is not a victorious
young athlete with a perfect face and body but a heavily battered, de-
feated veteran whose upward gaze may have been directed at the man
who had just beaten him. Too many punches
from powerful hands wrapped in leather
thongs—Greek boxers did not use the modern
sport’s cushioned gloves—have distorted the
boxer’s face. His nose is broken, as are his teeth.
He has smashed, “cauliflower” ears. Inlaid cop-
per blood drips from the cuts on his forehead,
nose, and cheeks. How radically different is this
rendition of a powerful bearded man from that
of the noble warrior from Riace (FIGS. 5-35and
I-17) of the Early Classical period. The Hel-
lenistic sculptor appealed not to the intellect
but to the emotions when striving to evoke
compassion for the pounded hulk of a once-
mighty fighter.5-85Seated boxer, from Rome, Italy,
ca. 100–50 bce.Bronze, 4 2 high. Museo
Nazionale Romano–Palazzo Massimo alle
Terme, Rome.
Even when Hellenistic artists treated traditional
themes, they approached them in novel ways.
This bronze statue represents an older, defeated
boxer with a broken nose and battered ears.1 ft.Hellenistic Period 1515-84ASleeping
Eros, Rhodes,
ca. 150–100 BCE.