The Discobolus free essay sample

Myrons works, that Diskobolos you speak of Lucian of Samosata, Philopseudes c Myrons Discobolus, a bronze statue of a discus thrower Just before he is about to elease the discus, is believed to have been manufactured from 460 to 450 B. C; its style falling between the high classical and earl Hellenistic period7. The Discobolus is known for its aesthetics and representation of the proportions of the human body8. The statue shows the stillness of the human body; the moment of tension before the release9. The statue was so admired that Roman sculptors made multiple marble copies of Myrons Discobolus10. Two of the most well-known statues are dated to the 2nd century B. C. They include the Townley Discobolus and the Lancellotti Discobolusl 1 . The marble statues are roughly the same size, measuring 1. 7 meters in height and 1050 millimetres wide12. Despite being of similar size, style and age, the two statues can be easily identified from one another in various ways. We will write a custom essay sample on The Discobolus or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The Townley Discobolus is the second to be discovered of the two statues found roughly ten years after the Lancellotti Discobolus13. The Townley Discobolus was excavated at Hadrians Villa at Tivoli by Gavin Hamilton, a Scottish history Painter, in 179114. A year later the statue was purchased by Thomas Jenikins and then sold to Charles Townley in 17941 5. After the purchase, Townley discovered that his statue had been wrongly restored, as the head on the statue was looking down as opposed to the original statue in which the head is turned upward towards the discus, as shown in figures 1 and 216. Townleys Discobolus was sold to the British museum in 1805, where it remains todayl 7. The Lancellotti Discobolus, also known as the Palombara Discobolus, was excavated from the Villa Palambara in Esquilline, Rome in 178118. The statue was owned by the wealthy and powerful Massimi family. In 1938, the statue was sold to Nazi Germany eturned to Italy in 194820. The Lancellotti Discobolus was the first of the two statues to be excavated by Gavin Hamilton21. The head of the statue has been properly restored, unlike the Townley Discobolus, and for this reason it is believed to be the more favourable of the tw022. The Lancellotti Discobolus is now featured in the National Museum of Rome23. Myrons Discobolus has been remembered through history for its bold and accurate portrayal of the human body. The statue has been described as an example of rhythmos, the Greek word for harmony and balance24. We see rhythmos as the iscus thrower bends down, curving his body in preparation of the final release of the discus. Yet, there is no sign of strain in the body or the face. The subtlety of emotion of the discus thrower is a representation of the nobility of the Greeks; an example of the calm, yet powerful nation the Greeks believed themselves to be25. The Discobolus portrays this ideology accurately. The statue is frozen in the final moment before the peak of action in anticipation of what is to come next the potential of the body and the mind. It is believed that Myron chose to focus on thletic fgures as topics of art because of the underlying symbolism of the athlete26. Athletics are designed to celebrate and exhibit what the human body is capable of. In this way, the Discobolus not only represents the human body, but instead what the Greeks were capable of27. Myrons Discobolus will forever be remembered for its immaculate portrayal of the human body, mind, and society of the Ancient Greeks. Although the original bronze statue has been lost in time, the legacy of Myron will live on in the many Roman and modern day replicas of his famous Discobolus28.