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26-451: The Discobolus by Myron (" discus thrower ", Greek : Δισκοβόλος , Diskobólos ) is an ancient Greek sculpture completed at the start of the Classical period in around 460–450 BC that depicts an ancient Greek athlete throwing a discus. Its Greek original in bronze lost, the work is known through numerous Roman copies, both full-scale ones in marble, which is cheaper than bronze, such as

52-421: A publication now in the public domain :  Chisholm, Hugh , ed. (1911). " Myron ". Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 114. Giovanni Battista Visconti Giovanni Battista Visconti or Giovanni Battista Antonio Visconti (1722 – 2 September 1784) was an Italian archaeologist and museum curator. Giovanni Battista Visconti

78-636: A quality that, in moderation, was characteristic of the best works of art, according to critics in Antiquity. According to Pliny's Natural History, Myron's most famous works included "heifer, a dog ( canem , Cerberus ?), a Perseus, a satyr ( Marsyas ) admiring the flute and Minerva (Athena), a Hercules, which was taken to the shrine dedicated by Pompey the Great at the Circus Maximus , Discobolus (the discus thrower ), and an Apollo for Ephesus , "which Antony

104-447: A revolution, according to commentators in Antiquity, by introducing greater boldness of pose and a more perfect rhythm, subordinating the parts to the whole. Pliny's remark that Myron's works were numerosior than those of Polycleitus and "more diligent" seem to suggest that they were considered more harmonious in proportions ( numeri ) and at the same time more convincing in realism: diligentia connoted "attentive care to fine points",

130-437: A static medium, transforming a routine athletic activity into a representation of balance and harmony. Myron is often credited with being the first sculptor to master this style. However, the great effort of the athlete is not reflected in his facial expression, which displays only a tenuous concentration. The torso shows no muscular strain, even though the limbs are outflung. The other trademark of Myron embodied in this sculpture

156-487: A torso that is now recognized as an example of Myron's Discobolus as a Wounded Gladiator who supports himself on his arm as he sinks to the ground; the completed sculpture was donated before 1734 by Pope Clement XII to the Capitoline Museums , where it remains. Yet another copy was discovered in 1906 in the ruins of a Roman villa at Tor Paterno in the former royal estate of Castel Porziano, now also conserved in

182-448: A virtuous life. Myron 's Discobolus was long known from descriptions, such as the dialogue in Lucian of Samosata 's work Philopseudes : When you came into the hall," he said, "didn't you notice a totally gorgeous statue up there, by Demetrios the portraitist?" "Surely you don't mean the discus-thrower," said I, "the one bent over into the throwing-position, with his head turned back to

208-476: Is how well the body is proportioned: the symmetria . The athlete's body demonstrates a sense of proportion, with meticulous attention to detail in every muscle and sinew, capturing the dynamics of a thrower's physical actions. The contrapposto stance, subtly shifting the athlete's weight from one leg to the other, imparts a semblance of motion and adds an element of realism to the artwork. The potential energy expressed in this sculpture's tightly wound pose, expressing

234-639: The Discobolus of Naukydes of Argos , mentioned by Pliny (Haskell and Penny 1981:200). The Discobolus Palombara , the first copy of this famous sculpture to have been discovered, was found in 1781. It is a 1st-century AD copy of Myron 's original bronze. Following its discovery at a Roman property of the Massimo family, the Villa Palombara on the Esquiline Hill , it was initially restored by Giuseppe Angelini;

260-725: The Museo Nazionale Romano . In the 19th century, plaster copies of Discobolos could be found in many large academic collections, now mostly dispersed. Bodies: The Exhibition includes a recreation of the Discobolus . The Discus Thrower is plastinated human corpse posed like the original sculpture, discus included. Myron None of his original sculptures are known to survive, but there are many of what are believed to be later copies in marble, mostly Roman. Myron worked almost exclusively in bronze and his fame rested principally upon his representations of athletes (including his iconic Diskobolos ), in which he made

286-554: The Palombara Discobolus , the first to be recovered, and smaller scaled versions in bronze. A norm in Ancient Greek athletics , the Discobolus is presented nude. His pose appears unnatural to a human and is considered as per modern standards a rather inefficient way to throw the discus. Myron's skill is evident in his ability to convey a sense of movement of the body at the moment of its maximum tension and splendor within

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312-399: The aulos which Athena had thrown away. The full group is copied on coins of Athens, on a vase and in a relief which represent Marsyas as oscillating between curiosity and the fear of the displeasure of Athena. The ancient critics say of Myron that while he succeeded admirably in giving life and motion to his figures, he did not succeed in rendering the emotions of the mind. This agrees with

338-663: The English antiquary and art dealer established in Rome, Thomas Jenkins , at public auction in 1792. (Another example, also found at Tivoli at this date, was acquired by the Vatican Museums .) The English connoisseur Charles Townley paid Jenkins £400 for the statue, which arrived at the semi-public gallery Townley commissioned in Park Street, London, in 1794. The head was wrongly restored, as Richard Payne Knight soon pointed out, but Townley

364-499: The Massimo installed it in their Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne and then at Palazzo Lancellotti . The Italian archaeologist Giovanni Battista Visconti identified the sculpture as a copy from the original of Myron. It was instantly famous, though the Massimo jealously guarded access to it (Haskell and Penny 1981:200). In 1937, Adolf Hitler negotiated to buy it, and eventually succeeded in 1938, when Galeazzo Ciano , Minister of Foreign Affairs, sold it to him for five million lire, over

390-471: The animal. Chionis , a 7th-century BC Olympic victor from Sparta, was commemorated in an idealized bronze by Myron. An epigram on Ladas, the fleetest runner of his time, notes that he was commemorated in a sculpture by Myron; of Myron's Ladas there is no known copy. A description by Lucian conclusively identifies as Myron's the Discobolus or "Discus-Thrower", of which several copies exist, of which

416-525: The best is in the Palazzo Massimi alle Terme , Rome. Strabo also registers stray comments on Myron, especially a large group at Samos ; several surviving heads were identified as copies of Myron's Samian Athena by C.K. Jenkins in 1926. A marble figure in the Lateran Museum , which is now restored as a dancing satyr , is almost certainly a copy of a work of Myron, a Marsyas desirous of picking up

442-484: The extant evidence, in a certain degree, though not perfectly. The bodies of his men are of far greater excellence than the heads. The face of the Marsyas is almost a mask; but from the attitude we gain a vivid impression of the passions which sway him. The face of the discus-thrower is calm and unruffled; but all the muscles of his body are concentrated in an effort. A considerable number of other extant works were ascribed to

468-685: The granting of export-licences to archaeologists and dealers throughout the Papal States - such as Gavin Hamilton and Thomas Jenkins . A first volume of his catalogue of the Vatican collections appeared under his name in 1782; which was continued after his death by his son, Ennio Quirino Visconti . In his old age he was helped by both his sons, Ennio Quirino Visconti and Filippo Aurelio Visconti. He died on 2 September 1784. After his death his son, Filippo Aurelio, succeeded his father as Commissario and in 1785

494-422: The hand that holds the discus, and the opposite knee slightly flexed, like one who will spring up again after the throw? "Not that one," he said, "that's one of Myron 's works, that Diskobolos you speak of..." Prior to this statue's discovery, the term Discobolus had been applied in the 17th and 18th centuries to a standing figure holding a discus, a Discophoros , which Ennio Quirino Visconti identified as

520-466: The moment of stasis just before the release, is an example of the advancement of Classical sculpture from Archaic sculpture . As Clark observed, "Myron has created the enduring pattern of athletic energy. He has taken a moment of action so transitory that students of athletics still debate if it is feasible, and he has given it the completeness of a cameo. To a modern eye, it may seem that Myron's desire for perfection has made him suppress too rigorously

546-635: The protests of Giuseppe Bottai , Minister of Education, and the scholarly community. It was shipped by rail to Munich and displayed in the Glyptothek ; it was returned in 1948. It is now in the National Museum of Rome , displayed at the Palazzo Massimo . After the discovery of the Discobolus Palombara a second notable Discobolus was excavated, at Hadrian's Villa in 1790, and was purchased by

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572-511: The school or the influence of Myron by Adolf Furtwängler . These attributions have not stood up to the test of time. A papyrus from Oxyrhyncus gives dates of victors at Olympia of whom Myron made statues of the athlete Timanthes , victorious at Olympia in 456 BC, and of Lycinus, victorious in 448 BC and 444 BC. This helps us to fix his date. He was a contemporary, but a somewhat older contemporary, of Pheidias and Polykleitos . [REDACTED]   This article incorporates text from

598-528: The sense of strain in the individual muscles". The Discobolus was sculpted at a time when Greece was at the zenith of its artistic and athletic achievements. The ancient Olympic Games were not just sporting events but were deeply intertwined with Greek culture and religion. Myron's work embodies the Greek philosophy of the harmonious development of body and mind, an idea known as kalokagathia , where physical beauty and prowess were celebrated as integral components of

624-459: The triumvir took from the Ephesians, but the deified Augustus restored it again after being warned in a dream". The Early Imperial Roman writers consistently rated Myron among the greatest of Greek sculptors, a sign that his contemporaneous reputation had remained high. The heifer seems to have earned its fame mainly by serving as a peg on which to hang epigrams , which tell nothing about the pose of

650-501: Was born in 1722. After the murder of Johann Joachim Winckelmann in 1768, Visconti succeeded him as the Papal States' Superintendent of Antiquities (Commissario delle Antichita), a post which he retained until his death in 1784. His main task was to reorganise and secure new acquisitions for the Vatican Museums and he became the first curator of the Museo Pio-Clementino , commissioning its neoclassical form. He also controlled

676-557: Was convinced his was the original and better copy. It was bought for the British Museum , with the rest of Townley's marbles, in July 1805. Other Roman copies in marble have been recovered, and torsos that were already known in the 17th century but that had been wrongly restored and completed, have since been identified as further repetitions after Myron's model. For one such example, in the early 18th century Pierre-Étienne Monnot restored

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