Légende

Head of Menelaus from the Menelaus Carrying the Body of Patroclus group. 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 below, 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 an important moment in the Trojan War, bringing Achilles back into the fight and affecting the war’s outcome. Date: 1st half of the 2nd century AD reign of Hadrian, 117–138. Roman Empire; sculpture; weight 78.5 kg., A carved stone relief showing a group of humanlike figures intertwined in dynamic poses, with flowing drapery and limbs overlapping; the surface is weathered and textured with visible chips and smoothing. The stone appears pale gray with darker gray shadows in the recesses, and the background is a solid mid-gray. The composition includes rounded forms, muscular contours, and curling fabric or hair elements, all carved from the same stone.

Crédit

Photo12/Liszt Collection

Notre référence

LZT26A18_475

Licence

Droits gérés

Format disponible

82.4Mo (4.0Mo) / 40.6cm x 50.8cm / 4800 x 6000 (300dpi)

Mots clés

Head Menelaus Menelaus Carrying Body Patroclus group 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 important moment Trojan War bringing Achilles back affecting war’s outcome Date 1st half 2nd century AD reign Hadrian 117–138 Roman Empire weight 78.5 kg carved stone relief showing group humanlike figures intertwined dynamic poses flowing drapery limbs overlapping surface weathered textured visible chips smoothing stone pale gray darker gray shadows recesses background solid mid-gray composition includes rounded forms muscular contours curling fabric hair elements carved stone.