Menelaus (sculptor)
Menelaus was a sculptor in Rome who belonged to the age of Augustus / Tiberius and was a pupil of Stephanos (the maker of the Ephebe statue in the Villa Albani ). From him comes a wonderful marble group in the Villa Ludovisi in Rome, interpreted by O. Jahn auf Merope and Aipytos , by Winckelmann as Orestes and Elektra (cf. Kekulé The group of the artist Menelaos (Leipzig 1870)).
Orestes and Elektra, mother and son, depicted in an excited moment, perhaps when they say goodbye or when they meet again, are in any case inadmissible because of their unequal size, while nothing seriously contradicts the names Penelope and Telemach. The mother is the incomparably better figure, not only because of the pure expression of comfortable devotion, but also in relation to work; In the invention her garment appears like a gem of later Greek art. The name of the sculptor on the undergarment reads: Menelaus, Stephen's pupil.
The Realencyclopadie of Pauly-Wissowa lists the sculptor under “Menelaos Cossutius” and cites his signature ( IG XIV 1250) on the folds of the chlamys of a statue that has since been lost and was once in the Villa Borghese . According to Pauly-Wissowa, this artist is identical to the one who was immortalized by a signature on the stele-shaped support of the above-mentioned Ludovisian group (IG 1251). The two figures are also interpreted as Orestes and Elektra in the Realcyclopedia. Like his teacher Stephanos, Menelaus is said to have used classical works as models for his new creations. The article also notes that the sculptor's Roman name suggests a connection with other Cossutii, through which the Pasiteles school is linked to Paros and Aphrodisias.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Menelaus |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Roman sculptor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1st century BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1st century BC BC or 1st century |