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{{Short description|1st - 2nd century AD Roman sculptures}} |
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The '''Apollo Sauroktonos''' ([[Apollo]] Lizard-killer) is a 1.49m high ancient sculpture in the [[Louvre]], as Inventaire MR 78 (n° usuel Ma 441). It is a 1st - 2nd century AD Roman marble copy of an original by [[Praxiteles]]. It shows a nude adolescent male about to catch a lizard climbing up a tree. The left arm, the right hand and the lizard's head are modern restorations. |
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[[File:Praxiteles - Apollo the Python-Slayer - 2004.30 - Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg|thumb|230px|Apollon Sauroctonos, bronze from the Cleveland Museum of Art]] |
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'''''Apollo Sauroktonos''''' ([[Attic Greek]]: Άπόλλων Σαυροκτόνος) ([[Apollo]] Lizard-killer) is the title of several 1st – 2nd century AD Roman marble copies of an original by the ancient Greek sculptor [[Praxiteles]]. The statues depict a nude adolescent [[Apollo]] about to catch a lizard climbing up a tree. Copies are included in the collections of the [[Louvre]] Museum, the [[Vatican Museums]], and the [[National Museums Liverpool]]. |
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==Original== |
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The bronze original of this sculpture is attributed by [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] (XXXIV, 69-70) to the Athenian sculptor [[Praxiteles]] and is usually dated to c.350-340 BC. [[Martial]] wrote an epigram about the statue (14, 172): "Spare the lizard, treacherous boy, creeping toward you; it desires to perish by your hands."<ref>{{cite web|author=Valerius Martialis |url=http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/martial_epigrams_book14.htm |title=Martial, Epigrams. Book 14. Mainly from Bohn's Classical Library (1897) |page= 172 |publisher=Tertullian.org |access-date=2014-07-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Neils|first=Jennifer|title=Praxiteles to Caravaggio: The Apollo Sauroktonos Redefined|journal=The Art Bulletin|volume=99|issue=4|year=2017|pages=10–30 |doi=10.1080/00043079.2017.1327771|s2cid=194838321 |doi-access=free}}</ref> |
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Formerly in the [[Borghese collection]], it was bought by Napoleon in 1807. |
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The [[Cleveland Museum of Art]] claims to own [[Cleveland Apollo|a bronze original (or part-original)]] of this work. The work is currently being analyzed to verify this claim by scholars and archaeologists. [[Greece]] has raised questions about ownership and title.<ref>{{cite web |
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|date= June 20, 2010 |
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|last= Litt |
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|first= Steven |
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|url= http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2010/06/cleveland_museum_of_arts_apoll.html |
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|title= Cleveland Museum of Art's Apollo sculpture is a star with intriguing past |
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|publisher= [[The Plain Dealer]] |
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|access-date= January 21, 2017 |
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}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |
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|date= September 27, 2013 |
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|last= Litt |
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|first= Steven |
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|url= http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2013/09/the_cleveland_museum_of_art_wa.html |
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|title= The Cleveland Museum of Art wades into global controversy over antiquities collecting with exhibition and catalog on its ancient bronze Apollo |
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|publisher= [[The Plain Dealer]] |
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|access-date= January 21, 2017 |
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}}</ref> |
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== |
==Copies== |
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About forty copies of the Apollo Sauroctonos are known to exist. It is also depicted on Roman gems and coins.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Neils|first=Jennifer|title=Praxiteles to Caravaggio: The Apollo Sauroktonos Redefined|journal=The Art Bulletin|volume=99|issue=4|year=2017|doi=10.1080/00043079.2017.1327771|page=13|s2cid=194838321 |doi-access=free}}</ref> |
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It could indirectly refer to Apollo's fight against the serpent [[Python (mythology)|Python]] or, if the lizard is an attribute of the god, it could show Apollo in his purifying function, as a destroyer of plagues - Greek gods called smintheus (rat-killer of rat) or parnopios (grasshopper-killer) are certainly known. |
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A marble copy of the Apollo Sauroctonos is in the collection of the Louvre, with the catalogue number MR 78 (n° usuel Ma 441). It is {{convert|1.67|m|ft}} high, and the left arm, the right hand and the lizard's head are modern restorations. Formerly in the [[Borghese collection]], it was bought by Napoleon in 1807.<ref>{{cite web|title=Apollo Sauroctone|website=Louvre|URL=https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010278000|access-date=19 October 2023}}</ref> Other copies are in the collections of the [[Vatican Museums]], [[Villa Albani]], and [[National Museums Liverpool]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Apollo Sauroktonos|website=National Museums Liverpool|URL=https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/artifact/statue-of-apollo-sauroktonos|access-date=19 October 2023}}</ref> |
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==Original== |
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The bronze original of this sculpture is attributed by [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] (XXXIV, 69-70) to the Athenian sculptor [[Praxiteles]]. This is usually dated to c.350-340 BC. The [[Cleveland Museum of Art]] claims to own a bronze original (or part-original) of this work, but its claims have not yet been verified by scholars and archaeologists, and the country of [[Greece]] has raised questions about ownership and title. |
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==Iconography== |
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The statue depicts Apollo as a youth, unusually for classical artwork which normally did not portray gods other than Dionysius and Eros as children or adolescents.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Neils|first=Jennifer|title=Praxiteles to Caravaggio: The Apollo Sauroktonos Redefined|journal=The Art Bulletin|volume=99|issue=4|year=2017|doi=10.1080/00043079.2017.1327771|page=15|s2cid=194838321 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Martin Robertson has suggested that the statue alludes to the myth of Apollo slaying the serpent [[Python (mythology)|Python]]. Jennifer Neils disputes this, noting that Python is depicted elsewhere in Greek art as a giant snake, and there is no reason to believe that ancient audiences would have associated the small lizard depicted on the Apollo Sauroctonos with Python.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Neils|first=Jennifer|title=Praxiteles to Caravaggio: The Apollo Sauroktonos Redefined|journal=The Art Bulletin|volume=99|issue=4|year=2017|doi=10.1080/00043079.2017.1327771|pages=16–17|s2cid=194838321 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Alternatively, the statue may depict Apollo healing the lizard, related to a myth that the lizard, when it loses its sight, is healed by looking at the sun.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Praxiteles' "Apollo" and Pliny's "Lizard Slayer"|first=Edward|last=Olszewski|year=2012|journal=Source: Notes in the History of Art|volume=31|issue=2|pages=6–7}}</ref> |
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[[File:Apollon au gecko bardo.jpg|thumb|Apollo with a lizard on a string on a mosaic from [[Africa (Roman province)|Roman Africa]]]] |
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Small-scale decorative reproductions were made in the Roman era, as indicated by an epigram of [[Martial]] (14, 172). The theme of Apollo and the lizard is also found on Roman mosaics. |
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==Notes== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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{{commons category|Apollo Sauroktonos}} |
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*[http://cartelen.louvre.fr/cartelen/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=20235 Louvre catalogue] |
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*[https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010278000 Louvre catalogue] |
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*[ |
*[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0041&query=Louvre%20Ma%20441 Perseus entry] |
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{{Louvre Museum}} |
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{{Praxiteles}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sauroctonos, Apollo}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sauroctonos, Apollo}} |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Ancient Greek and Roman sculptures in the Louvre]] |
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[[Category:Apollo types]] |
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[[Category:Antiquities acquired by Napoleon]] |
[[Category:Antiquities acquired by Napoleon]] |
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[[Category:Borghese antiquities]] |
[[Category:Borghese antiquities]] |
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[[Category:Apollo]] |
[[Category:Sculptures of Apollo|Sauroctonos]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Lizards in art]] |
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[[Category:Roman copies of 4th-century BC Greek sculptures]] |
[[Category:Roman copies of 4th-century BC Greek sculptures]] |
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[[Category:Sculptures by Praxiteles]] |
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{{sculpture-stub}} |
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Latest revision as of 02:54, 29 November 2024
Apollo Sauroktonos (Attic Greek: Άπόλλων Σαυροκτόνος) (Apollo Lizard-killer) is the title of several 1st – 2nd century AD Roman marble copies of an original by the ancient Greek sculptor Praxiteles. The statues depict a nude adolescent Apollo about to catch a lizard climbing up a tree. Copies are included in the collections of the Louvre Museum, the Vatican Museums, and the National Museums Liverpool.
Original
[edit]The bronze original of this sculpture is attributed by Pliny (XXXIV, 69-70) to the Athenian sculptor Praxiteles and is usually dated to c.350-340 BC. Martial wrote an epigram about the statue (14, 172): "Spare the lizard, treacherous boy, creeping toward you; it desires to perish by your hands."[1][2] The Cleveland Museum of Art claims to own a bronze original (or part-original) of this work. The work is currently being analyzed to verify this claim by scholars and archaeologists. Greece has raised questions about ownership and title.[3][4]
Copies
[edit]About forty copies of the Apollo Sauroctonos are known to exist. It is also depicted on Roman gems and coins.[5]
A marble copy of the Apollo Sauroctonos is in the collection of the Louvre, with the catalogue number MR 78 (n° usuel Ma 441). It is 1.67 metres (5.5 ft) high, and the left arm, the right hand and the lizard's head are modern restorations. Formerly in the Borghese collection, it was bought by Napoleon in 1807.[6] Other copies are in the collections of the Vatican Museums, Villa Albani, and National Museums Liverpool.[7]
Iconography
[edit]The statue depicts Apollo as a youth, unusually for classical artwork which normally did not portray gods other than Dionysius and Eros as children or adolescents.[8] Martin Robertson has suggested that the statue alludes to the myth of Apollo slaying the serpent Python. Jennifer Neils disputes this, noting that Python is depicted elsewhere in Greek art as a giant snake, and there is no reason to believe that ancient audiences would have associated the small lizard depicted on the Apollo Sauroctonos with Python.[9] Alternatively, the statue may depict Apollo healing the lizard, related to a myth that the lizard, when it loses its sight, is healed by looking at the sun.[10]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Valerius Martialis. "Martial, Epigrams. Book 14. Mainly from Bohn's Classical Library (1897)". Tertullian.org. p. 172. Retrieved 2014-07-15.
- ^ Neils, Jennifer (2017). "Praxiteles to Caravaggio: The Apollo Sauroktonos Redefined". The Art Bulletin. 99 (4): 10–30. doi:10.1080/00043079.2017.1327771. S2CID 194838321.
- ^ Litt, Steven (June 20, 2010). "Cleveland Museum of Art's Apollo sculpture is a star with intriguing past". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
- ^ Litt, Steven (September 27, 2013). "The Cleveland Museum of Art wades into global controversy over antiquities collecting with exhibition and catalog on its ancient bronze Apollo". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
- ^ Neils, Jennifer (2017). "Praxiteles to Caravaggio: The Apollo Sauroktonos Redefined". The Art Bulletin. 99 (4): 13. doi:10.1080/00043079.2017.1327771. S2CID 194838321.
- ^ "Apollo Sauroctone". Louvre. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
- ^ "Apollo Sauroktonos". National Museums Liverpool. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
- ^ Neils, Jennifer (2017). "Praxiteles to Caravaggio: The Apollo Sauroktonos Redefined". The Art Bulletin. 99 (4): 15. doi:10.1080/00043079.2017.1327771. S2CID 194838321.
- ^ Neils, Jennifer (2017). "Praxiteles to Caravaggio: The Apollo Sauroktonos Redefined". The Art Bulletin. 99 (4): 16–17. doi:10.1080/00043079.2017.1327771. S2CID 194838321.
- ^ Olszewski, Edward (2012). "Praxiteles' "Apollo" and Pliny's "Lizard Slayer"". Source: Notes in the History of Art. 31 (2): 6–7.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Apollo Sauroktonos.
