Zeus of Otricoli
| Zeus of Otricoli | |
|---|---|
| Year | 4th Century BC[1] |
| Medium | Sculpture |
| Location | Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp |
The Zeus of Otricoli is an Ancient Roman bust found in Otricoli, Italy, in 1775 during the excavation financed by Pope Pius VI. It is on display in the Sala Rotonda of the Pio-Clementine Vatican Museum.[2]
Attribution
The bust is presumed to be a Roman copy of a Hellenistic original, dating to around the 4th century BC.[3] The bust is probably produced during the epoch of Alexander the Great and sometimes considered a modification by Lysippos, his favorite sculptor.[4]
While some attributed the bust as a copy of the statue of Pheidias at Olympia, numismatic reproductions of that famous statue would suggest otherwise.[5] It appears to be more likely from subsequent centuries.[6] Some scholars consider that the head comes from a seated sculpture, part of his iconography that portray Zeus as a paternalistic god.[7] Built from Carrara marble, the sculpture retains the impress of the Pheidian original such as the half-opened mouth. However, it is distinctive in several aspects. For instance, the head no longer adhered to the Pheidian depth, while the center of the face is broader and more deeply marked.[8]
Copies
The Zeus of Otricoli was copied, and used as the head of God the Father, by the baroque sculptor Stephan Schwaner, who made statues for the attic of the Holy Trinity Church in Warsaw. The figure of God the Father is currently placed on the battlefield of Raszyn in Falenty, Poland.[9]
Other copies of the Zeus of Otricoli are held in the Cornell University cast collection in New York,[10] the Bowdoin College Art Museum in Maine[11] and one graces an arch at the Boston Athenæum.[12]
References
- ^ LIMC, s.v. Zeus, p. 342.
- ^ De Montebello, Philippe; Howard, Kathleen (1983). The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. p. 177.
- ^ "Zeus of Otricoli | Museum of Greek and Roman Mythology, Su '22". University of Washington. 2022-07-15. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
- ^ Whibley, Leonard (2015). A Companion to Greek Studies. Cambridge University Press. p. 308. ISBN 978-1-107-49754-2.
- ^ Mach, Edmund von (1907). The Fine Arts: A University Course in Sculpture, Painting, Architecture and Decoration in Their History, Development and Principles. Vol. 1. National Art Society. p. 271.
- ^ Progress: For the Promotion of the Fine Arts, Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Decoration, in Their Development and History. International art association. 1900. p. 271.
- ^ Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae.
- ^ Farnell, Lewis Richard; Richard, Farnell Lewis (2010-07-15). The Cults of the Greek States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 137. ISBN 978-1-108-01543-1.
- ^ Wardzyński, Michał (2017). "O dwóch posągach z warszawskiego kościoła brygidek w Raszynie" (PDF). Stolica (in Polish). 9: 39–41. ISSN 0039-1689.
- ^ "Zeus Otricoli". digital.library.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
- ^ "1882.10". Antiquity and America. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
- ^ "Zeus Otricoli (Jupiter)". Boston Athenaeum. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
References
- Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC). VIII.1: Thespiades – Zodiacus, Zürich and Munich, Artemis Verlag, 1997. ISBN 3760887511. Internet Archive.