fragment torso roman romano marble marmol 1
fragment torso roman romano marble marmol 2
fragment torso roman romano marble marmol 7
fragment torso roman romano marble marmol 6
fragment torso roman romano marble marmol 5
fragment torso roman romano marble marmol 4
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Male Torso

Roman Empire
1st – 2nd century AD

Price: Upon Request

Material:
Marble

Dimensions:
58 x 38 cm x 31 cm

Provenance:
– William Froelich private collection, New York, early 1970s.
– Fortuna Fine Arts, New York, 2007.
– Private collection, France, February 14, 2013.
– Art Market, London, 2018.

Condition:
Good state of preservation.

SKUMF246 Categories, , , , , ,

About The Male Torso

A formidable fragment of a male torso carved in white marble, Roman in origin, dating from between the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Its slightly larger-than-life size, the vigorous anatomical representation, and the impressive skill of the sculptural work indicate that it is the image of a god, a hero, or an athlete, created by the hand of a master sculptor whose great skill is also reflected in the subtlety of the anatomical details, the tactile quality of the skin, and the elegance of the movement. The fragmentary nature of the work gives it a singular beauty, unique in its nuances of light, its balanced proportions, the harmony of its lines, and the contrast of textures between the smooth skin and the unpolished marble of the ruptures.

The weight of the body rests on the right leg, with the left slightly forward; the right buttock is raised, the skin folding over the buttocks. The well-modeled abdominal muscles house a deep, U-shaped navel and are delimited by marked iliac crests that end, at their frontal junction, above the curly pubic hair. The penis and the upper part of the testicles have been lost. At the rear of the torso, a deep vertical cleft between the buttocks stands out, extending to the upper thighs.

Judging from the powerful representation of the musculature, the movement of the figure, and its position, this is probably a Roman version of a model by Polykleitos, a master of Greek sculpture of the 5th century BC. Comparison with Roman copies of his Hercules (figs. 1 and 2) suggests that the upper torso was originally slightly inclined to its left side, compensating for the tension in the right leg and creating a gently sinuous line at the sides. This oscillating movement or contrapposto, charged with energy and determination, was an essential element of Polykleitos’ statuary, and brings the piece under study remarkably close to the Diadumenus (fig. 3) and the Discophoros (fig. 4), masterpieces in which the Greek master captured his ideal of the male figure, his famous canon. The torso under study is also remarkably close to the Diomedes of Kresiales, another great Greek sculptor and contemporary of Polykleitos. The version preserved in the Munich Glyptothek (fig. 5) is parallel to the piece in scale and anatomical realism, and is similarly broken at mid-thigh, although the upper part of the torso and the head are preserved.

 

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