Terme Boxer
Title
Terme Boxer
Date
Hellenistic, ca. 300-50 BCE
Artist or Workshop
Unknown
Materials
Bronze, Copper
Height of the work
140 cm tall
Provenience
Baths of Constantine, Quirinal Hill, Rome
Current Location
Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome, Italy
Description and Significance
Description:
The bronze and copper Terme Boxer is a sculpture of a seated boxer. The boxer has an athletic, muscular, toned and glowing body. The hair and beard are curly. The head of the boxer is turned right and the shoulders are hunched. The facial expression of the boxer is one of pain and possibly torment. We know this due to the presence of the pained, anguished, tormented and exhausted expression on the face of the boxer. The pain is also conveyed through the cuts in the face of the boxer. The artist creates these cuts to show the actual cuts that the boxer had gotten whilst boxing. Copper is used in the face to represent blood that gushed out after cuts. The boxer almost appears to be looking up for help. In its current condition, the boxer has hollow eyes. The ears of the boxer appear quite swollen. There is an inscription on the boxer's left glove that reads "Apollonios Nestoros." Athletes in ancient Greece competed in the nude and the Terme Boxer is no exception. The boxer does not have any clothes on. The only piece of clothing that the boxer is wearing are gloves for boxing. The gloves are made of leather. The boxer's legs are spread apart and his arms are resting on his legs for support. The left foot is flat on the stone that the boxer is seated on and the right heel is half on the ground and half raised in the air. The boxer is seated in the nude on a piece of stone which extends forward till the bottom of the boxer's feet. The bronze has a fairly shine appearance. The bronze accentuates the musculature of the boxer's body.
Significance:
Where to start? This is one of the greatest works that I have ever seen. There is such a painful look. Here is a sculpture with a perfect body and yet there is an absolute agony in its face. The facial expression is truly striking. The boxer appears to truly be in a significant amount of pain. This would be the pathos. The viewer can really see and feel the emotion on the boxer's face. It could also be that the boxer does not any energy left. He is empty. There is no fuel in the tank. He is running on fumes. This is because the viewer is looking at the boxer after the bout. This is unlike Classical sculpture where the viewer is looking at the scene before an event. Instead this is the boxer after an event. Though the boxer has hollow eyes in its current state, originally there were eyes made of ivory and glass paste. Also, the swollen ears of the boxer could be showing the injuries that boxer had received from boxing matches. It is important to recognize and understand that this is a Hellenistic sculpture. This means that this sculpture was made in the very last phase of ancient Greek art. However, the single most important aspect of this sculpture is that it was made using the lost wax casting method. This method allows for the intricate detailing of the beard and hair. As a result of the sculpture being made using the lost wax casting method, the sculpture is hollow and the material does not have a lot of width to it. The Terme Boxer has individualizing features. The sculpture is of a weary and worn down boxer after a boxing match. The boxer's body shows the wear and tear of the match. There are gashes on the boxer's face. The energy has been drained out of the boxer. The drained face of the boxer shows us that. All of the the above point to the boxer being a portrait.
The bronze and copper Terme Boxer is a sculpture of a seated boxer. The boxer has an athletic, muscular, toned and glowing body. The hair and beard are curly. The head of the boxer is turned right and the shoulders are hunched. The facial expression of the boxer is one of pain and possibly torment. We know this due to the presence of the pained, anguished, tormented and exhausted expression on the face of the boxer. The pain is also conveyed through the cuts in the face of the boxer. The artist creates these cuts to show the actual cuts that the boxer had gotten whilst boxing. Copper is used in the face to represent blood that gushed out after cuts. The boxer almost appears to be looking up for help. In its current condition, the boxer has hollow eyes. The ears of the boxer appear quite swollen. There is an inscription on the boxer's left glove that reads "Apollonios Nestoros." Athletes in ancient Greece competed in the nude and the Terme Boxer is no exception. The boxer does not have any clothes on. The only piece of clothing that the boxer is wearing are gloves for boxing. The gloves are made of leather. The boxer's legs are spread apart and his arms are resting on his legs for support. The left foot is flat on the stone that the boxer is seated on and the right heel is half on the ground and half raised in the air. The boxer is seated in the nude on a piece of stone which extends forward till the bottom of the boxer's feet. The bronze has a fairly shine appearance. The bronze accentuates the musculature of the boxer's body.
Significance:
Where to start? This is one of the greatest works that I have ever seen. There is such a painful look. Here is a sculpture with a perfect body and yet there is an absolute agony in its face. The facial expression is truly striking. The boxer appears to truly be in a significant amount of pain. This would be the pathos. The viewer can really see and feel the emotion on the boxer's face. It could also be that the boxer does not any energy left. He is empty. There is no fuel in the tank. He is running on fumes. This is because the viewer is looking at the boxer after the bout. This is unlike Classical sculpture where the viewer is looking at the scene before an event. Instead this is the boxer after an event. Though the boxer has hollow eyes in its current state, originally there were eyes made of ivory and glass paste. Also, the swollen ears of the boxer could be showing the injuries that boxer had received from boxing matches. It is important to recognize and understand that this is a Hellenistic sculpture. This means that this sculpture was made in the very last phase of ancient Greek art. However, the single most important aspect of this sculpture is that it was made using the lost wax casting method. This method allows for the intricate detailing of the beard and hair. As a result of the sculpture being made using the lost wax casting method, the sculpture is hollow and the material does not have a lot of width to it. The Terme Boxer has individualizing features. The sculpture is of a weary and worn down boxer after a boxing match. The boxer's body shows the wear and tear of the match. There are gashes on the boxer's face. The energy has been drained out of the boxer. The drained face of the boxer shows us that. All of the the above point to the boxer being a portrait.
References
"Apollonius, Seated Boxer." Khan Academy. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.
"Poem for a Boxer at Rest." The Getty Iris. N.p., 05 Jan. 2017. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.
"The Boxer: An Ancient Masterpiece Comes to the Met." The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.
"Poem for a Boxer at Rest." The Getty Iris. N.p., 05 Jan. 2017. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.
"The Boxer: An Ancient Masterpiece Comes to the Met." The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.
Contributor
Sai Teja Surapaneni
Citation
Unknown, “Terme Boxer,” Digital Portrait "Basket" - ARTH488A "Ancient Mediterranean Portraiture", accessed April 18, 2024, http://classicalchopped.artinterp.org/omeka/items/show/23.
Item Relations
This item has no relations.