Glykon (after Lysippos)
Farnese Hercules
3rd century AD
This mammoth of a man once loomed over idling Romans at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome. The ruins where it was discovered are among the mightiest in Rome: Caracalla gave bathers a sublime experience of architectural excess, in which this slightly monstrous nude must have fitted perfectly. It has haunted art ever since it was rediscovered in the Renaissance: proof that nudity can go beyond beauty into a realm of mysterious human extremity.
No comments:
Post a Comment