Diadumenos

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Diadumenos, Roman copy from Delos ; National Archaeological Museum , Athens

As Diadumenos ("Diadem wearer") or also Anadumenos ("The one who wraps the headband") is a type of statue that has been preserved in several marble copies of the Roman period and, in its most famous form, is based on the original of a bronze statue of Polyklet , a sculptor of the 5th century AD . Century BC Goes back. However, the motif as such was not invented by Polyklet, but found precursors in early classical images of athletes and later sculptors and ore founders adapted it again and again.

Written sources

The Diadumenos was one of the most famous works of Polyklet in antiquity , alongside the Doryphoros and the statue of Heraion of Argos . The Diadumenos of Polyklet is mentioned three times in ancient literature, twice of them in combination with Doryphorus. The oldest testimony can be found in Seneca , who, following Aristotle's explanations, uses examples of art to express himself about the "causes". In connection with the figure as the third cause, he explains, "One would not call that famous statue" Doryphoros "or" Diadumenos "if it were not intended to look like this." Lukian calls Diadumenus - in a joking scene with people haunted around at night Statues - a very beautiful work of Polyklet. When listing polycletic works, Pliny names him even before Doryphoros and describes him - as a contrast to the manly boy who is depicted in Doryphoros - as moliter iuvenis , as a "soft young man" who became known because he - probably in an auction - I achieved 100 talents: an unbelievable amount for the time. As with many written works of Greek art, only the motif of the Diadumenos is known, but not the statue. Who it represented, for what occasion it could have been created, cannot be inferred from a literary point of view.

Discovery story

The knowledge of the polycletic statues was lost in the course of late antiquity and in Byzantine times a Johannes Tzetzes could no longer associate a concrete work with the name Polyklets. In the 18th century, Johann Joachim Winckelmann identified the Diadumenos in the ancient monuments, although he initially relied on the grave altar of Tiberius Octavius ​​Diadumenus, which, alluding to his name, shows someone wrapping himself in the Taenia. As a polycletic statue he believes he can recognize the " Anadumenos Farnese ". One hundred years later, Adolf Michaelis made the type clear and reconstructed it on the basis of three copies.

Since then, a large number of Roman copies have been added that are sometimes quite complete repetitions, sometimes just torsos, often just heads, but all in all give a very reliable idea of ​​the original. Incidentally, three of these copies from the 2nd century were found together with copies of Doryphorus. A replica from Delos shows a coat and a quiver leaning against its support. At least this repetition was obviously reinterpreted as Apollo . Further copies give palm trunks as supports, which can point to both Apollon and an athlete. Finally, a copy from the Museo Torlonia shows hanging jumping weights on the palm trunk support, all of which are copyist's ingredients and were alien to the original, which identify the person depicted as an athlete.

Statue of Polyklet

In the Diadumenos, too, although not as dynamic as in the Doryphoros, the classical counterosto , which goes back to Polyklet , is evident . In contrast to the rather blocky appearance of the Doryphoros, the Diadumenos is characterized by more or less laterally reaching arms with hands raised to head height, which are about to tie a ribbon around the head. This moment, which encompasses space on the sides, leads to a significantly increased complexity of the movement elements to be resolved in a contrapostic way. And so a stronger ponderation can also be seen in numerous details. Following the arm, the shoulder is lowered more towards the side of the standing leg, the linea alba is more curved than in Doryphoros. The same applies to the head turned more decisively to the side and bowed. If the Doryphoros has a composition scheme that is characterized by clear front and side axes and action elements that are mirrored in a contrapostic way, the Diadumenos now has diagonal directions of movement with the posture of the arms and the free leg. The clear hair spiders, which characterize the hair design of Doryphoros, but also the beginnings of Diskophoros and especially Herakles as a trademark Polyklet, are no longer to be found in the head replicas of Diadumenus, the ornamental character of the design was in favor of a freer, but also softer Design and composition abandoned.

If the Doryphoros was characterized by a "standing walking" or "walking standing", a pause in movement, the standing motif of the Diadumenos appears inadequate, even if his free leg is less set back than is the case with Doryphoros. Because with his gesture of binding he embodied a real moment, which would then also have to be reflected in his motive for movement and which cannot be reconciled with pausing. Or as Adolf Furtwängler observes: "This pausing while walking does not go with the action depicted".

All of this characterizes Diadumenos as a late work by Polyklet, whose problematic Akme from Pliny began with the 90th Olympiad , i.e. the year 420 BC. Is given. At this time he must also have created his Diadumenos.

This type has also been passed down from the students of Polyklet like Lysipp and Skopas . Also worth mentioning is the Anadumenos Farnese in the British Museum , London , who is repeatedly - albeit wrongly - associated with the name Phidias , of whom Pausanias mentions a corresponding statue in Olympia.

literature

  • Peter C. Bol : Diadumenos. In: Herbert Beck, Peter C. Bol, Maraike Bückling (eds.): Polyklet. The sculptor of the Greek classical period. Exhibition in the Liebieghaus-Museum Alter Plastik Frankfurt am Main . Von Zabern, Mainz 1990 ISBN 3-8053-1175-3 , pp. 206-212.
  • Detlev Kreikenbom : sculptures after Polyklet. Examinations critical of copies of the male statuary types based on polycletic models. "Diskophoros", Hermes, Doryphorus, Heracles, Diadumenos . Mann, Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-7861-1623-7

Web links

Commons : Diadumenos  - collection of images, videos and audio files

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Renate Thomas : Athlete statuettes of the late archaic and strict style , Bretschneider, Rome 1981 (Archaeologica, Vol. 18) ISBN 88-85007-46-5 , pp. 91-102; Beck, Bol, Bückling (Ed.): Polyklet. The sculptor of the Greek classical period. P. 510 No. 6.
  2. ↑ Seneca, Epistalae morales 65, 4.
  3. ↑ Lukian, Philopseudes 18.
  4. ↑ Pliny, Naturalis historia 34, 55.
  5. ↑ Johannes Tzetzes, Chiliades 8, 319-324.
  6. ^ Johann Joachim Winckelmann: History of the art of antiquity. Vol. 2. Dresden 1764, p. 335 note 2 ( digitized version ).
  7. ^ Adolf Michaelis: Tre statue Policlitee . In: Annali dell'Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica 1878, pp. 5-30.
  8. ↑ Adolf Furtwängler: Masterpieces of Greek sculpture. Art historical research. Giesecke & Devrient, Leipzig et al. 1893, p. 444.
  9. ↑ Pliny, Naturalis historia 34, 80.
  10. ^ Pausanias 6: 4, 5.