Standing Aeschines

Standing Aeschines

Copy of a Late Classical work ca. Early 4th century BC

unknown

marble

200 cm tall

Between the third and forth columns of the northeast corner of the large garden, Villa of the Papyri, Herculaneum, Naples, Italy.

Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy

Description:
Standing Aeschines is a full length statue of the Greek orator Aeschines. The figure stands in contrapposto. He wears strapped sandals on each of his feet called trochodes, commonly worn in the fourth century BC. He is fully covered in drapery, wearing a himation over a tunic. His arms are in a traditional “sling” position: his right arm is bent towards his chest and contained within the drapery. His hand, however, is exposed with his fingers curling around the edge of the garment. His left arm is bent behind his back, also enveloped in the garment. His himation is fairly taught around his body, and the folds of the garment respond to his contrapposto, accentuating the shape of his belly as well as the bend in his knee. The himation falls onto a container of papyrus rolls called a scrinium which form a support for the body. He wears a tunic or a chiton beneath his himation, which can be seen at the top of his chest. His head is slightly turned to the right. He wears a short beard formed of commas of hair. The hair on his head is also waved and longer on the sides of his head as well as thin and receding at the top, suggesting his age. He has a large nose at the center of his face. The slight contracting of the brow, pointed eyes, and downturned mouth form a pensive expression.

Significance:
Aeschines was a 4th century Greek orator. We know that the sling pose in which he stands is one he thought highly of because of his comments. He described the sling pose while observing a statue of Solon, stating that this pose represented self control and reserve in a speaker, opposed to wild gesticulation of his contemporary speakers. The artist chose to reproduce him in this pose which he admired and thought to reflect good values. This quality of self control Aeschines addresses is perhaps a remainder of sophrosyne from the Classical Period. The figure’s pose of restraint and modesty would have reminded viewers of the good citizen in Classical Athens. The individualizing traits in the sculpture are characteristic of the Late Classical period, and foreshadow the careful attention to detail of Hellenistic sculpture. His thinning hair and large nose set this sculpture apart from the mask-like Classical figures which minimize rather than highlight individualizing traits. The sculpture was found at the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum, a sprawling private residence where over 41 portraits were found. This is an exciting case in which we can understand the display context of this Roman copy. The statue was found in the northeast corner of the large garden of the residence, and would have been the one of the first sculptures seen when entering the garden from the house. Because this sculpture was in an outdoor space, viewers would have engaged with it in a social context.

Breckenridge, James D. "The Portrait in Greek Art." Likeness; a Conceptual History of Ancient Portraiture. Evanston: Northwestern UP, 1968. 107-111. Print.

Dillon, Sheila. "Chapter 4: The Appearance of Greek Portraits." Ancient Greek Portrait Sculpture: Contexts, Subjects, and Styles. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2012. 61-63. Print.

Mattusch, Carol C., and Henry Lie. "Chapter 4: Marble Sculptures." The Villa Dei Papiri at Herculaneum: Life and Afterlife of a Sculpture Collection. Los Angeles, CA: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2005. 143-44. Print.