DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18396#0049
45
was still at Athens in the time of Lucian, who has accu-
rately described the action of the figure. It is much
praised by Quintilian on account of the shill with which
the artist has carried out a bold and difficult conception.
The moment represented is that when the athlete is
gathering together the whole force of his body to give the
utmost possible momentum to the forward swing of his
arm; hence, the toes of the right foot clutch the ground
to gain a greater fulcrum. In the whole composition the
mode of transition from one action to another is suggested
with consummate skill.
The left hand is restored; the head is ancient, but has
been rejoined, and, as has been already stated, there is good
ground for considering that it never belonged to this figure.
The nose, both lips, and part of the chin have been re-
paired.
Ht. 5 ft. 8 in. Found, in 1791, in Hadrian's Villa, near Tivoli.
Mus. Marbles, XI., pi. 44. Spec. Ant. Sculpt., 1., pi. 29.
Ellis, T. G., 1., p. 241. Clarac, pi. 860, fig. 2,194B. <See
also Welcker, Alte Denkmaler, 1., pp. 417-29, where all the
extant copies of this figure are enumerated. Michaelis, Arch.
Zeit., 1862, p. 337*. Caldesi, No. 16. Harrison, No. 818. V.
In the opposite recess is :—
(136.) The Towneley Venus.—A statue of Venus
naked to the waist, a or mantle, being wound round
the lower half of her body. As the left arm is modern, it
is uncertain whether the left hand held up a mirror, a
diadem, or a small flask, containing unguent.
The figure is well modelled, and gracefully composed :
the general proportions are harmonious, though the neck
is, perhaps, rather long. The drapery, though well dis-
posed, is rather conventional in execution. This statue
may possibly be a work of the Macedonian period, though
it may, with more probability, be referred to the Augustan
age. It is made of two pieces of marble, skilfully joined
was still at Athens in the time of Lucian, who has accu-
rately described the action of the figure. It is much
praised by Quintilian on account of the shill with which
the artist has carried out a bold and difficult conception.
The moment represented is that when the athlete is
gathering together the whole force of his body to give the
utmost possible momentum to the forward swing of his
arm; hence, the toes of the right foot clutch the ground
to gain a greater fulcrum. In the whole composition the
mode of transition from one action to another is suggested
with consummate skill.
The left hand is restored; the head is ancient, but has
been rejoined, and, as has been already stated, there is good
ground for considering that it never belonged to this figure.
The nose, both lips, and part of the chin have been re-
paired.
Ht. 5 ft. 8 in. Found, in 1791, in Hadrian's Villa, near Tivoli.
Mus. Marbles, XI., pi. 44. Spec. Ant. Sculpt., 1., pi. 29.
Ellis, T. G., 1., p. 241. Clarac, pi. 860, fig. 2,194B. <See
also Welcker, Alte Denkmaler, 1., pp. 417-29, where all the
extant copies of this figure are enumerated. Michaelis, Arch.
Zeit., 1862, p. 337*. Caldesi, No. 16. Harrison, No. 818. V.
In the opposite recess is :—
(136.) The Towneley Venus.—A statue of Venus
naked to the waist, a or mantle, being wound round
the lower half of her body. As the left arm is modern, it
is uncertain whether the left hand held up a mirror, a
diadem, or a small flask, containing unguent.
The figure is well modelled, and gracefully composed :
the general proportions are harmonious, though the neck
is, perhaps, rather long. The drapery, though well dis-
posed, is rather conventional in execution. This statue
may possibly be a work of the Macedonian period, though
it may, with more probability, be referred to the Augustan
age. It is made of two pieces of marble, skilfully joined