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Epigonus of Pergamon and Agassius, son of Menophilus, dying Gaul. 230 BC NS. Marble, Capitolian Museums, Rome

The Dying Gaul, also known as The Death of Galatian, or The Dying Gladiator, is a marble Roman copy preserved on the Capitol from a Pergamon original (probably bronze) commissioned by King Attalus I to commemorate his victory over the Celtic Galatians. It is possible that the original came out from under the chisel of the court sculptor Epigon.

Sculpture, in terms of naturalism and drama, belongs to the heights of ancient art. Gallus is depicted lying on a shield, naked, with the exception of the torques around his neck. Like the throne of Ludovisi, the statue was probably discovered during the construction of their villa in Rome and was kept in the Palazzo Ludovisi on Pincio until it was acquired by Pope Clement XII. The visual emphasis on the wounds corresponds to the description of the Gauls by the ancient authors. "The Gauls go into battle naked, but in other cases they are never naked, and therefore any wound was visible on their pale, stout bodies."

"TORKVES (Tork) is a Celtic variety of the neck torch: an iconic necklace made of bronze, gold, precious metals, which was worn around the neck, waist, across the chest, like bracelets."
Most of them were open at the front, but despite this, many of them were made for almost permanent wear, and they were difficult to remove, despite the fact that gold is a soft metal. The word comes from lat. torquere or torques, from torqueo "twist", "turn"

The earliest Celtic torques are most often buried with women. Some authors believe that torques were an adornment for women until the end of the 3rd century BC, after which it became an attribute of warriors.

In the Iron Age, golden torques for the Celts were a key element in identifying the wearer as a person of high rank, and many of the best ancient Celtic art are torques. Celtic torques disappear during the Migration Period, but during the Viking Age, torques return to fashion, mostly in the form of silver jewelry. "

During Napoleonic Wars The Dying Gaul was taken out of Italy by the French and exhibited at the Louvre for a number of years. Byron saw him in the Capitol Museum and sang him in Child Harold's Travels; thanks to this poem, all reading Europe of the era of romanticism learned about the statue.

POEM BYRON IN THE TRANSLATION OF LERMONTOV:

"Exuberant Rome rejoices ... solemnly thunders
A wide arena with clapping hands:
And he - pierced in the chest - silently he lies,
His knees slide in dust and blood ...
And a dull look begs for pity in vain:
Arrogant temporary worker and flatterer his senator
They crown victory and shame with praise ...
What is the slain gladiator to the noble and the crowd?
He's despised and forgotten ... a booed actor.

And his blood flows - the last moments
Flicker - the hour is close ... here is a ray of imagination
Flashed in his soul ... the Danube is rustling before him ...
And the homeland blooms ... a free land of life;
He sees a family circle left to fight
Of the Father who stretched out his numb hands,
Calling for the support of decrepit days ...
Children playing - beloved children.
Everyone is waiting for him back with booty and glory,
In vain - a pitiful slave - he fell like a forest beast,
An insensitive crowd with a moment's fun ...
Sorry, depraved Rome, - forgive me, my native land ...

Don't you, oh European world,
Idol of fiery dreamers,
You lean towards the grave with an inglorious head,
Exhausted in the struggle between doubts and passions,
Without faith, without hope - the playground of children,
Laughed at by the jubilant crowd!

The last third of the 4th century - 1 c. BC.

The state of Alexander the Great (356 - 323 BC) disintegrated after his death. In the newly formed states, the term "Hellene" is gradually beginning to denote not only the conquerors of the Greeks, but also all representatives of the privileged strata of society, regardless of their nationality.

The art of the Hellenistic era is primarily characterized by a combination of Greek and Oriental artistic traditions.
The architecture has not undergone significant changes. Mainly peripters and small churches are being built - forgiven.

The fine arts receive new directions of development:
1. An idealizing tradition.
2. The tradition of realistic art.

Cameo Gonzaga. Ptolemy II and Arsinoe. Sardonyx. Hermitage Museum. Idealized images.

Along with the image of idealized beauty, the traditions of Lysippos are being developed - a realistic depiction of a living person.

Very accurately reveals the image of the famous orator and statesman.

Alexandria

In addition to cult sculpture, decorative sculpture, palace and park, to decorate palaces and private houses became widespread in Alexandria.
One of the favorite images was the image of Aphrodite.
The goddess remains beautiful as before, but loses the majesty of the Olympic deity.

Con. 3 - early. 2 c. BC 16 babies - 16 cubits of water rise.

In a realistic direction, images appeared in the everyday genre.

Con. 3 - early 2nd century BC

Even types with physical disabilities were depicted - the hunchbacks of the dwarf.

Bronze. 2 c. BC.

Pergamum

Pergamum (Pergamon)- an ancient city on the coast of Asia Minor, the former center of an influential state.
The traditions of realism were leading in the Pergamon art school. Two monuments are dedicated to the reflection of the invasion of the barbarian Gauls.

"Gifts of Attalus" are bronze sculptural groups commissioned by Attalus I (king of Pergamum 241 BC - 197 BC) in memory of his victory over the barbaric Gauls (Galatians). Master Epigon (court sculptor), Pyromachus, Stratinnik and Antigonus. They stood on the Pergamon Acropolis next to the sanctuary of Athena Nicephorus, and their repetitions were displayed on the south side of the Athenian Acropolis as a gift to the gods for victory. These "Gifts of Attalus" depicted scenes of gigantomachy, Amazonomachy, the battle of the Greeks with the Persians and Gauls. Some of these figures have come down to us in Roman copies.
Gifts of Attalus. Group "Gallus, who killed his wife and kills himself." Roman marble copy of a lost bronze original from 230 BC NS. Rome. Museum Therm.

Dramaticism. He turned around, triumphant that he was dying free. the image of the Gaul is full of heroic pathos, enhanced by the contrast of his mighty figure with the powerlessly falling body of his wife. The group is built on complex foreshortenings of figures, the extreme tension of the warrior is emphasized by an almost supernatural turn of the head.

The dying Gallus. Gifts of Attalus. Roman copy of a bronze original.
Death, dying, the last breath are designed with amazing power, even with naturalism. Another peculiarity: the ethnic type of the Gaul is accurately conveyed in the sculpture.
"Dying Gaul".
Sculpture, in terms of naturalism and drama, belongs to the heights of ancient art. Gallus is depicted lying on a shield, naked, with the exception of a hoop around his neck. Like the throne of Ludovisi, the statue was probably discovered during the construction of their villa in Rome and was kept in the Palazzo Ludovisi on Pincio until it was acquired by Pope Clement XII.
During the Napoleonic Wars, The Dying Gaul was taken out of Italy by the French and exhibited in the Louvre for a number of years.

It is a memorial monument, erected in the 2nd century. BC (?) in honor of the victory won by the Pergamon king over the barbaric Gauls (Galatians).
Traditionally, it is believed that the altar was dedicated to Zeus, among other versions - dedication to the "twelve Olympians", Tsar Eumenes II, Athena, Athena, along with Zeus.
In the 19th century. was discovered by German archaeologists and transported to Germany.

In the Berlin Pergamon Museum, built in 1910 - 1930. specifically for this purpose, a model-reconstruction of the altar is exhibited, on which the surviving elements of the sculptural decor are placed.
This building is not a copy of the ancient altar - only the main, western side has been recreated. The frieze plates on the other sides of the altar are placed in the same room near the walls.

The innovation of the creators of the Pergamon altar was that the altar - a sacred place - was taken outside the temple and turned into an independent architectural structure.
It was erected on a special terrace on the southern slope of the acropolis of Pergamon, below the sanctuary of Athena. The altar was visible from all sides.

The altar was a high plinth raised on a stepped foundation. On one side, the plinth was cut by a wide open marble staircase, 20 m wide, leading to the upper platform of the altar. The upper tier was surrounded by Ionic columns. Inside the colonnade there was an altar courtyard, where the altar itself was located (3-4 m high).
The famous Big Frieze (2.3 m high and 120 m long) stretched along the perimeter of the basement in a continuous tape.
The main theme of the relief images is the battle of the Olympian gods with the giants.

Most likely, in ancient times, the altar was considered a masterpiece, since the Roman writer of the II-III centuries. Lucius Ampelius ranks him among the wonders of the world. He briefly mentions the altar of Zeus in his essay "On the Wonders of the World": "In Pergamum there is a large marble altar, 40 steps high, with large sculptures depicting gigantomachy."
The ancient Greek writer and geographer of the 2nd century, the author of a kind of antique guidebook "Description of Hellas" Pausanias mentions the Pergamon altar, comparing the traditions of sacrifice in Olympia.
In the New Testament, in the second chapter of the Revelation of John the Theologian: "And write to the Angel of the Pergamon Church: ... you live where the throne of Satan is." There is an opinion that these words of John the Evangelist refer to the altar of Zeus, however commentators of Revelation usually associate these words with the cult of Aesculapius, in whose temple in Pergamum a living serpent was kept.

In the XIX century. the Turkish government invited German specialists to build roads: the engineer Karl Humann was engaged in work in Asia Minor. He found that no full-scale excavations had yet been carried out at Pergamum, although the finds could be of extraordinary value. Humann had to use all his influence in order to prevent the destruction of some of the open marble ruins in the lime-gas kilns.

“As we went up, seven enormous eagles soared over the acropolis, foreshadowing happiness. The first slab was dug up and cleared. It was a mighty giant on serpentine wriggling legs, his muscular back turned towards us, his head turned to the left, with a lion's skin on his left hand ... Another slab is turned over: the giant falls back on a rock, lightning pierced his thigh - I feel your closeness, Zeus! all four plates. I see that the third is approaching the first: the serpentine ring of the large giant clearly passes to the slab with the giant falling to its knees ... I positively tremble all over. Here's another piece - I scrape the ground with my nails - it's Zeus! The great and wonderful monument was presented to the world again, all our works were crowned, the Athena group received the most beautiful pandan (an object paired with another) ... Deeply shocked, we, three happy people, stood around the precious find until I sank on the slab and relieved my soul big tears of joy.
Karl Humann. Pergamon altar.

Reliefs of the Pergamon Altar

is one of the best examples of Hellenistic art.
Style characteristic
The main feature of this sculpture is its extreme energy and expressiveness.
"The Pergamon frieze reflects one of the essential aspects of Hellenistic art - the special grandeur of the images, their superhuman strength, exaggeration of emotions, violent dynamics".
For the sake of these qualities, the masters abandoned the calmness of the classics.
“Although battles and battles were a frequent theme of ancient reliefs, they had never been portrayed as on the Pergamon altar - with such a shuddering feeling of cataclysm, battles for life and death, where all cosmic forces, all the demons of the earth are involved and the sky ".

"": Zeus is fighting three opponents at the same time. Having struck one of them, he prepares to throw his lightning at the leader of the enemies - the snake-headed giant Porphyrion.

"": The goddess with a shield in her hands plunged the winged giant Alcyoneus to the ground. The winged goddess of victory Nike rushes to her to crown her head with a laurel wreath. The giant tries unsuccessfully to free himself from the goddess's hand. Athena grabbed the huge winged giant Alcyoneus by the hair and easily tears him away from mother earth Gaia. The faces of the giant and Gaia are full of physical and mental torment.

The frieze of the Pergamon Altar influenced later antique works. For example, the Laocoon group, which, as Bernard André proved, was created twenty years later than the Pergamon high relief. The authors of the sculptural group worked directly in the tradition of the creators of the altar frieze and perhaps even participated in the work on it.

Marble. Beginning 3 c. It is penetrated by a mood of hopeless despair and horror.

Laocoont (Laocoon)- in Greek mythology, the priest of Apollo in Troy. He took a wife against the will of Apollo and gave birth to children; according to Euphorion, Apollo was angry with him, because he was combined with his wife in front of his statue.
Laocoont is a soothsayer who warned his fellow citizens not to bring the Trojan horse into the city. Apollo sent two serpents, which swam across the sea and devoured the sons of Laocoont Antiphantus and Fimbrey, and then strangled Laocoont himself. According to another story, this was due to the anger of Athena, and the snakes took refuge under a shield at the feet of the statue of Athena (or the snakes sailed from the islands of Kalidna and turned into people). The Trojans thought this was because Laocoon threw a spear at the Trojan horse. According to Arctin, the snakes killed Laocoont and one of his sons. According to one version of the myth, only his children were strangled by snakes. He himself remained alive to mourn his fate forever.

2 c. BC. White marble. It is believed that its creator is the sculptor Agesander or Alexandros of Antioch (the inscription is illegible).
The sculpture is a type of Aphrodite of Cnidus (Venus the bashful): a goddess holding a fallen robe with her hand (for the first time a sculpture of this type was sculpted by Praxitel, c. 350 BC). The proportions are 86x69x93 with a height of 164cm.

It was found in 1820 on the island. Melos (Milos) in southern Greece, one of the Cyclades islands of the Aegean, by the peasant Yorgos Kentrotas while working in the land. Her hands were lost after the discovery, at the time of the conflict between the French, who wanted to take her to their country, and the Turks (the owners of the island), who had the same intention. The base with the author's signature has also been lost.

3 c. BC. It stood in the form of a victory monument on about. Samothrace. It seems to take off from a pedestal designed in the form of a ship's bow.

Mosaic from the House of the Faun in Pompeii. Roman copy of the lost Greek painting by Philoxenus, The Battle of Alexander with Darius. The beginning of the 3rd century. BC d

On December 8, 2017, during the Days of the Hermitage in the Roman courtyard of the New Hermitage, the exhibition “The Defeated. The Dying Gaul and the Lesser Initiations of Attalus. From the collection of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples ”.

The exposition includes unique monuments that have survived to this day, Roman copies from bronze originals of Athenian initiations: sculptures of the Dying Gaul, the Amazon, Persian and the Giant. Ancient statues date back to the famous monument to the victory over the Gauls, erected around 200 BC. on the Athenian Acropolis by the ruler of the Pergamon kingdom Attalus I.

The historical circumstances that gave rise to the erection of the sculptures were associated with the military campaigns of the Attalids. Monuments depicting mythological and historical battles with the enemies of Pergamum and the Greek world - battles with giants and Amazons, repelling Gallic raids, victory over the Persians - were called "Small Initiations", which differed from the "Large Initiations" installed in Pergamum, in smaller sizes.

The group of "Minor Initiations" was determined on the basis of the message of Pausanias; the ancient historian described the plots of the compositions and mentioned the unusual size of the figures (Paus. I, 25, 2): “At the southern wall of the acropolis, Attalus erected monuments, each about two cubits long, depicting the so-called war with the giants who once lived on the Pallene isthmus in Thrace, the battle of the Athenians with the Amazons, their glorious deed at Marathon against the Medes, and the defeat of the Galatians in the Mission. " The ensemble of the Athenian monument consisted of four compositions, each group was on a separate pedestal. The length of the entire platform reached one hundred and twenty-four meters, the total number of bronze figures - about one hundred and twenty.

The plots were lined up in chronological order: the earliest - the battle of giants and gods, then the battle of the Greeks with the Amazons and the battle of the Greeks and Persians. The culmination was the last group - it represented the battle with the Gauls at the Kaik River. Thus, the victory of Pergamum was equated with victories in the Greco-Persian war, the significance of the battles with the Gauls rose to the level of heroic myth. Pergamum, the heir to Athens, appeared to be the defender of the civilized world from barbaric aggression. Unlike the previous tradition of "victorious" initiations, now the focus of the sculptors' attention were defeated enemies. Four sculptures from the Archaeological Museum of Naples are key figures for the entire work: each corresponds to one of the "battles" plots.

Three characters from the Naples group are sprawled on the ground, one of them trying to get up. The surface of the bodies is covered with deep wounds - the holes pouring out streams of blood are depicted plastically, the blood, most likely, was also transmitted by red paint. The figure of the Dying Gaul almost completely repeats the famous "Gaul" from the Capitoline Museum, only the collar and horn are missing. The visual emphasis on the wounds corresponds to the description of the Gauls by the ancient authors. "The Gauls go into battle naked, but in other cases they are never naked, and therefore any wound was visible on their pale, stout bodies" (Liv. XXXVIII, 21).

One of the most expressive is the statue of a dead woman, the queen of the Amazons, Antiope, with a half-naked chest and a beautiful face. As shown by the drawings of the statue, made in the 16th century, the Amazon was originally depicted with a baby. The image of a young mother who died in battle was deliberately calculated for the grief and sympathy of the viewer. The figure of the Persian is identified by thin trousers and an oriental headdress. The barbarian lies prone, half-closed, he has already been killed.

The dead giant is undoubtedly the ruler, since the ribbon next to the body means that the vanquished was a king. His face resembles a centaur, his head is thrown back, his mouth is wide open, strands of hair are like snakes. The image can be considered grotesque, while the contemplation of his motionless body evokes not a triumph, but a tragic feeling.

In the artistic images of the cycle, different stages of suffering and death were embodied - the wounded, the dying, killing themselves and their loved ones, and already dead. It has long been noted that of the entire composition, only sculptures of the defeated have survived, there is not a single figure in an attacking pose. Although punishment and death were traditional subjects in Greek art, never before had a person appeared so helpless. In the Pergamon "battles" the horror of death becomes not only the main, but also the only message - such a radical interpretation, according to some scholars, was introduced in the era of imperial Rome.

On 8 December 2017, during the Hermitage Days, the exhibition “The Fallen. The Dying Gaul and the Lesser Attalid Dedication. From the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples ”will open in the Roman Courtyard of the New Hermitage.

Amazon

Marble. Length: 125 cm

Dying gaul
Roman copy (first quarter of the 2nd century AD) of a Greek original of Pergamene workmanship (late 3rd century BC)
Marble. Height: 57 cm
Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, Inv. No. 6015
The statue derives from the Lesser Attalid Dedication, a group set up on the Acropolis in Athens around 200 BC

Giant
Roman copy (first quarter of the 2nd century AD) of a Greek original of Pergamene workmanship (late 3rd century BC)
Marble. Length: 134 cm
Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, Inv. No. 6013
The statue derives from the Lesser Attalid Dedication, a group set up on the Acropolis in Athens around 200 BC.

Amazon
Roman copy (first quarter of the 2nd century AD) of a Greek original of Pergamene workmanship (late 3rd century BC)
Marble. Length: 125 cm
Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, Inv. No. 6012
The statue derives from the Lesser Attalid Dedication, a group set up on the Acropolis in Athens around 200 BC.

The display consists of unique works, surviving Roman copies of the bronze originals that once adorned Athens: sculptures of the Dying Gaul, an Amazon, a Persian and a Giant. The ancient statues formed part of a famous monument (the Dedication) commemorating victory over the Gauls that was installed on the Acropolis in Athens around 200 BC by Attalus I, King of Pergamon.
The ensemble of sculptures commemorated the military campaigns of the Attalid dynasty. The monument depicting mythological and historical battles with the enemies of Pergamon and the Greek world - clashes with Giants and Amazons, the repulsion of raids by the Gauls and victory over the Persians - became known as the Lesser Dedication, because it was of smaller size than the Greater Attalid Dedication set up in Pergamon.
The Lesser Dedication group were identified on the basis of an account from Pausanias: the ancient traveler and geographer described the subjects of the compositions and mentioned the unusual size of the figures: “By the south wall are represented the legendary war with the Giants, who once dwelt about Thrace and on the isthmus of Pallene, the battle between the Athenians and the Amazons, the engagement with the Persians at Marathon and the destruction of the Gauls in Mysia. Each is about two cubits, and all were dedicated by Attalus. " (Pausanias I, 25, 2; translated by W.H.S. Jones)

The Athenian monument was an ensemble made up of four compositions, with each group on a separate pedestal. The length of the whole platform reached 124 meters and the total number of bronze figures was around 120.

The subjects were arranged in chronological order: the earliest was the fight between the Giants and the Gods, then came the battles between the Greeks and the Amazons and between the Greeks and the Persians. The culmination was the final group that presented the battle against the Gauls at the River Caicus. In this way, Pergamon's victory was equated with the victories in the Greco-Persian War and the significance of the campaign against the Gauls was elevated to the level of heroic myth. Pergamon, the heir to Athens, was presented as the defender of the civilized world against barbarian aggression. In contrast to the previous tradition of “victorious” dedications, in this instance the sculptors ’attention was focussed on the defeated enemies. The four sculptures from the Archaeological Museum in Naples are key figures for the entire work: each of them represents the subject of one of the “battles”.

Three personages in the Neapolitan group are sprawled on the ground, one of them is trying to get back up. The surface of their bodies is covered in deep wounds - the openings from which blood streams were depicted sculpturally and the blood was most probably also colored red.

The figure of the Dying Gaul almost completely repeats the famous sculpture in the Capitoline Museum, except for the absence of the torc and the horn. The visual accent on the wounds is in keeping with the descriptions of Gauls in the works of ancient writers: “The fact that they fight naked makes their wounds conspicuous and their bodies are fleshy and white, as is natural, since they are never uncovered except in battle. " (Liv. 38, 21)

One of the most expressive is the statue of a dead woman, Antiope, the queen of the Amazons, with a beautiful face and one bare breast. As drawings of the statue made in the 16th century show, originally the Amazon was depicted with a child. The image of a young mother who perished in battle was deliberately calculated to arouse sorrow and sympathy in the viewer.

The figure of the Persian can be identified by the thin baggy trousers and Eastern headwear. This barbarian is lying sprawled, half-covered and clearly slain.
The dead Giant was undoubtedly a ruler, since the ribbon lying next to the vanquished body indicates that this was a king. His face resembles a centaur; the head is thrown back, the mouth wide open; the locks of hair look like snakes. The depiction might be considered grotesque, yet at the same time contemplation of the immobile corpse arouses a sense of tragedy rather than triumph.

The artistic images from the cycle are an embodiment of various degrees of suffering and death - wounded, dying, killing oneself and one’s own, and already dead. It has long since been noted that from the entire composition only the sculptures of the vanquished have survived. There is not a single figure in an attacking pose. Although punishment and death were traditional subjects in Greek art, human beings had never before been presented in such a helpless state. In the Pergamene “battles” the horror of death becomes not merely the main premise, but the only one. In the opinion of a number of scholars, such a radical interpretation was introduced in the era of imperial Rome.

The copies of the sculptures from the Dedication were perhaps commissioned by Emperor Trajan, who waged numerous wars with the Dacians. The works were uncovered in Rome in the summer of 1514 on the site of a monastery located on top of ancient ruins. It is presumed that the sculptures of the Pergamene barbarians once adorned the Baths of Agrippa. Immediately after the discovery, in the 16th century, the Gaul, Giant, Amazon and Persian, were referred to not as barbarians, but as “Horatii and Curiatii” heroes from republican-era Roman history. That is how they were called in the inventory books of the collection of Alfonsina Orsini de ’Medici, the first owner of the statues. After Alfonsina's death, the antiquities passed to Margaret of Parma. Then from 1587 to 1790 they were owned by the Farnese family. They were restored in the workshops of Giovanni Battista de "Bianchi in the 16th century and Carlo Albacini in the late 18th century.

Together with the Farnese collection, the sculptures from Rome found their way to Naples, to the Royal Bourbon Museum that is now the National Archaeological Museum.
The motifs embodied in the sculptures of the Lesser Dedication were long-lived in Antiquity and later European art. Similar poses and figures can be seen in the depictions of captured and slain barbarians on Roman triumphal monuments and sarcophagi, on Etruscan urns and lamps. The expressive poses and faces of the Pergamene sculptures inspired artists of the Renaissance and Baroque eras - Raphael, Michelangelo, Veronese, Tintoretto, Caravaggio and many others. In their works the “defeated barbarians” were transformed into images of Christian martyrs and saints. In the 17th and 18th centuries, as the Baroque gave way to Classicism, the ancient motifs continued to stir artists' imaginations. And even when the Ancient World and the style it inspired became a thing of the past, the images of Hellenistic art became a source of inspiration and new meaning. The tragic emotional experience of history characteristic of the ancients and a conviction of the inevitability of fate was reborn in images of revolutions and worldwide catastrophes.

The display of sculptures from the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples continues a series of exhibitions in the Roman Courtyard of the New Hermitage of masterpieces of ancient art, such as the statue of the river god Ilissos from the British Museum in 2014 and the statue of an archaic Kore from the Acropolis Museum in Athens in 2016.

The exhibition’s curator is Anna Alexeyevna Trofimova, Candidate of Art Studies, head of the State Hermitage's Department of the Ancient World.
A Russian-language brochure has been prepared for the exhibition (State Hermitage Publishing House, 2017, 32 pp., Illus.). The author is Anna Trofimova.
The exhibition is taking place within the framework of the Hermitage – Italy Foundation projects through the agency of Villaggio Globale International.