Torso of a Youth

Description

Greek masterpieces were copied early and often. The statues of the 4th-century B.C. Athenian sculptor Praxiteles were especially influential. His male figures were usually languid, youthful, and sensuous. The standing figures bore the body’s weight on one taut leg. The other, bent at the knee, was relaxed. The side of the body with the lowered hip had a higher shoulder, resulting in a pronounced S curve. The muscular yet supple body and the opposing diagonal lines of the hips and shoulders of this torso indicate that its sculptor followed Praxiteles’s principles. A swath of drapery across its back may have been draped in the front over one or both of the youth’s arms.

Provenance

Dikran G. Kelekian (1867-1951), New York City; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1926.

Torso of a Youth

Ancient Roman

1st-2nd century

Accession Number

28641

Medium

Marble

Dimensions

66.2 × 38.7 × 24 cm (25 1/2 × 15 1/4 × 9 1/2 in.)

Classification

sculpture

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Robert A. Waller Fund