BY B E N & N OA H

LYSIPPOS’ APOXYOMENOS

FACTS

• 2.05m• c.320 BCE (Hellenistic) – Original Bronze• c.50 AD – Roman marble copy• Discovered 1849 in Rome• Currently in Vatican Museum, Rome• The “scraper”• Sculpted by Lysippos – Court sculptor of

Alexander the Great

WHAT DOES IT SHOW?

• Likely based on wrestler Cheilon of Patrai• Athlete cleaning himself• Holding a strigil (scraper)• Scraping oil and sand off from wrestling

HISTORY OF STATUE

• Transported to Rome during reign of Emperor Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD)• Put at site where Pantheon would later be built• Emperor Tiberius had the statue brought into his

own palace bedroom• Many Romans angry at this• Vented anger so loudly during a theatre

performance so Tiberius put it back• Mentioned in Pliny the Elder’s ‘Natural History’

STATUE

• Lysippos changes ratio it to 8:1• Presented to us as we look at ordinary people,

doing ordinary things which makes viewing the Apoxyomenos far more subjective and personal than other statues.• Lean body• Relatively small head• Bridges meant to support arms• Tree trunk support

NOT COPIED AND PASTED FACTS

• Slight rotation on central axis prevents us from seeing a fully frontal view of the body from any point.• The weight is mostly on the left leg; however, the

trailing foot creates a twist in the hips - This distribution of weight and the swivel of the hips make him appear to be restless.• Unlike many other sculptors, Lysippos seems to

not want the torso to be the focal point of his sculpture as his arm is over it.

EVEN MORE NOT COPIED AND PASTED FACTS

• Lysippos made Apoxyomenos more life-like by not putting as much emphasis on the muscles of the body.• Has muscles but they are not as prominent as

they would be in some of the other statues - this makes the body appear to be firmer.• Contrapposto

WOODFORD SAYS….

• “He has created a statue that has no single entirely satisfying point of view, but which is visually exciting from a multitude of viewpoints and which the observer is invited to walk all round if he is to appreciate its full special complexity.”