Caption

Head of Menelaus from the Menelaus Carrying the Body of Patroclus group, unknown artist. Head of a bearded man wearing a helmet, with an expressive face shown by wide-open eyes and parted mouth, emphasized by chiaroscuro effects from the contrast between lush locks of beard and hair emerging from under the helmet and the smooth skin of the face — the face of a man experiencing dramatic moments. The helmet is adorned with relief decoration depicting fantastic creatures: on each side a centaur fighting a Greek and, on the edge, a triton figurine. The sculpture is a Roman copy of the head from a Hellenistic bronze composition depicting Menelaus carrying the body of Patroclus. Menelaus, Helen's husband, is first to fight to retrieve the deceased's body and then carries it from the battlefield for burial; Patroclus's death is a pivotal moment in the Trojan War. Theme frequently reproduced in Roman sculpture. Dated broadly to the 1st half of the 2nd century AD reign of Hadrian, c. 117–138. Roman Empire, sculpture; weight 78.5 kg., A carved stone head of a bearded man wearing a rounded cap, shown on a circular pedestal; the sculpture displays textured curly hair and a full beard, with hollowed eyes and slightly open lips, and the stone surface shows subtle weathering and small marks. The visible colors are shades of off-white and light gray on the sculpture and pedestal, with a uniform medium gray background.

Credit line

Photo12/Liszt Collection

Reference

LZT26A18_470

License type

Rights managed

Available size

62.3Mb (1.7Mb) / 12.1in x 20.0in / 3630 x 6000 (300dpi)

Keywords

Head Menelaus Menelaus Carrying Body Patroclus group unknown artist bearded man wearing helmet expressive face shown wide-open eyes parted mouth emphasized chiaroscuro effects contrast lush locks beard hair emerging under smooth skin face man experiencing dramatic moments adorned relief decoration depicting fantastic creatures side centaur fighting Greek edge triton figurine sculpture Roman copy head Hellenistic bronze composition Menelaus carrying body Patroclus Helen's husband first fight retrieve deceased's body carries battlefield burial Patroclus's death pivotal moment Trojan War Theme frequently reproduced Roman sculpture Dated broadly 1st half 2nd century AD reign Hadrian c 117–138 Roman Empire weight 78.5 kg carved stone rounded cap shown circular pedestal sculpture displays textured curly hair full beard hollowed eyes slightly open lips stone surface subtle weathering small marks visible colors shades off-white light gray pedestal uniform medium gray background.