Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Classical Antiquities and "Studies after the Antique" - I

Hellenistic Greek Culture on Crete
Aphrodite
2nd century BC
marble
British Museum

Dorothy Mead
Study after the Antique
1959
oil on board
University College London Art Museum

Roman Empire
Replica of Athena Parthenos from the Parthenon
2nd-3rd century AD
marble
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

"Roman-period replica of the cult statue that once stood within the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis, a chryselephantine (gold and ivory) colossal statue designed by the master sculptor Phidias and dedicated in 438 BC. The goddess wears a helmet on which are remains of Pegasoi on either side flanking a sphinx of which only the paws remain; above the visor are parts of protomes, probably deer; griffins in relief on the cheek pieces. Curls frame the face, tresses fall on her shoulders. Gorgon on aegis which is edged by snakes; snakes encircle her waist forming knot at the center."

– from curator's notes at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Carlo Carlone
Mercury
before 1775
oil on paper, mounted on panel
National Trust, Hatchlands, Surrey

Roman Empire
Colossal Head of Mars
2nd century AD
marble
Art Institute of Chicago

Charles Shearer
Study of a Classical Bust
ca. 1976
oil on board
Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen

Roman Empire
Emperor Augustus, with attributes of Divinity
25-20 BC
sardonyx cameo
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Peter Paul Rubens
Apotheosis of Germanicus
(copy of antique cameo known as the Gemma Tiberiana)
1626
oil on canvas
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Hellenistic Greek Culture
Hermaphrodite
2nd century BC
marble statuette
Princeton University Art Museum

Louis-Gabriel Blanchet
Apollo Belvedere among Dead Trees
ca. 1765
oil on canvas
National Trust, Saltram House, Devon

Roman Empire
Head of an Athlete
AD 138-192
marble
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Anonymous Artist
Study of a Classical Male Head
ca. 1881-92
drawing
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Roman Empire
Medallion with the Bust of a Young Man
4th century AD
marble
Getty Museum, Los Angeles

Louis-Gabriel Blanchet
Medallion Portrait of a Roman Youth
ca. 1765
oil on canvas
National Trust, Saltram House, Devon

Roger Fry
La Salle des Caryatides in the Louvre
before 1934
oil on canvas
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford