The Metropolitan Museum has a wonderful and handsome wing full of Greek and Roman antiquities. The collection is wonderful—as is the presentation. Over the next couple of days, we'd like to share some of the Greco-Roman items which caught our eye in these galleries.
Over the millennia, the "idealized" male form—as depicted in Western art and embraced in Western culture—has not changed much. True, there are a couple of "types." There is the lean, athletic body of a youth. And there also is the strong, muscular build of a mature man. These are two (idealized) representations of the same man as he passes through different stages of his life. Ancient sculptures of nude males look much like the idealized male bodies we see today—in advertising, in movies or on TikTok.
The idealized female nude, on the other hand, has "changed types" many times over the centuries. Ancient sculptors depicted her as smooth, soft and rounded—with moderate hips and breasts. Painters in the Renaissance and Baroque periods celebrated a woman with bigger, more voluptuous features. (Think of the curves of Rubens most famous subjects.) In recent decades, the idealized feminine body has traveled from strong, lean and athletic (with six-packs, small hips and small breasts) to "willowy" to the zaftig "own-your-body" confidence we see in Dove soap ads.
This Western male ideal began in Greece. Greek sculptors fashioned male forms and produced them (most often) in cast bronze. Alas, over the centuries, many of these bronze sculptures were melted-down so that the valuable bronze could be repurposed (as artwork or weapons). Fortunately, the Romans came along (a bit later) and copied (usually in carved marble) some of the original Greek works before they were destroyed. The Romans were fueling a "Greek Revival" back home. They saw the Greek aesthetic (indeed, the Greek society) as uplifting, high-minded and true.
Shown above, a Greek bronze sculpture of a young man, produced 200-100 years BC. His proportions, pose and attitude would be widely emulated in the later (carved marble) sculptures of the Romans—of their gods, their emperors and their senators. Such Greek bronze sculptures are far less likely to have survived intact than their later Roman marble copies.
Here we see a Roman marble sculpture of Hercules (called Heracles in Greek), carved in the First Century AD. Although he is shown as a muscular and bearded, grown man, he is also shown wearing the mantle of the Nemean Lion—the "trophy" of the first of his Twelve Labors (which he began as a younger man).
Here is another First Century Roman sculpture of Hercules—with a more youthful look—shown carrying the club with which he slayed the Nemean Lion
I am always impressed with the detail and realistic expression with which the Roman sculptors could transform cold, hard marble. Here we see a marble portrait sculpture head of the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius, carved in the Second Century AD.
And here we see a sculpted bust of Emperor Gaius, better known by his nickname, Caligula. He is portrayed as a youth—though some may detect a flicker of evil in his expression. Caligula was an extravagant and cruel tyrant. He was assassinated at the age of 28, less than four years into his reign.
Not all Roman emperors came from Rome. Shown above, a Fourth Century head of the Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great. He was born in what is now Serbia. He founded Constantinople (now called Istanbul) and declared it the capital of the Roman Empire (which it remained for over 1,000 years). He converted to Christianity and is responsible for the subsequent christianization of the Roman Empire.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
To arrange a visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only), please call 917-446-4248.