Geneleos

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Geneleos ( Greek Γενέλεως ) was an ancient Greek sculptor who worked on the island of Samos . With the Geneleos group named after him , he made a significant contribution to the development of Greek sculpture. It is considered to be one of the high points of Sami- archaic , even Ionic sculpture.

Reconstruction of the group at the original installation site in the Heraion of Samos

Today nothing is known about the life of Geneleos. Today one work by the sculptor is certainly known, a second is attributed to him on the basis of stylistic comparisons. The works are dated to the second quarter of the 6th century BC. BC, more towards the middle of the century. The Geneleos group is signed by the sculptor ( Greek ΗΜΑΣ ΕΠΟΙΗΣΕ ΓΕΝΕΛΕΩΣ - Geneleos made us ), which expresses a certain creative pride .

Reconstruction of the group in the museum of Vathi; the figure of the ornith (next to the figure of the stored father on the right) is a plaster cast.
Statue of the Ornith in Berlin

Apart from the statue of the Ornith , which is now in the Berlin Collection of Antiquities and is exhibited in the Altes Museum am Lustgarten on Museum Island , the remaining parts of the tomb complex and the associated family group are in the Heraion of Samos and the associated museum on the island in Vathy . Four of the former six statues have survived, as well as fragments of the other two. Seen from the right, there was first the stored statue of the father of the family […] ilarches , then followed the statues of the daughters Ornithe and Philippe and a third only fragmentary figure of a girl. Only the foot section of the statue of a youth is preserved. The enthroned family mother Philea concludes . Comparisons with other works clearly show that Geneleos is strongly attached to the tradition of the Sami school of sculpture in his works. As in Ionic sculpture, the bodies are lavishly carved out and the folds of the robes are meticulously carved out, the abundance of material can be described as downright lavish. Nevertheless, innovations introduced by him are clearly visible. For example, he lets his Koren gather their garments with his right hand because of the abundance of material, and they also show a slightly suggested step position that breaks the usual, completely rigid coring scheme. According to the current state of research, these innovations must be directly attributed to Geneleos.

Family groups were an innovation at this time, but not an invention of Geneleos. For example, the Cheramyes group , in whose tradition the Koren figures are also part, should be considered a bit earlier. But the dedicatory inscription with its we formulation sets a very special accent. It shows both the self-confidence of the artist and the appreciation by the community. The large-scale statue of the father in bed was also not an invention of the sculptor, but at that time it was quite a new phenomenon that he took up.

The assignment of a further kore is controversial in research. Researchers who support the attribution see it as an early work by the artist, while those who reject it see it as a later work by a less talented sculptor.

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personal data
SURNAME Geneleos
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Γενέλεως (ancient Greek)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Sami-Greek sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH 6th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 6th century BC BC or 5th century BC Chr.