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Apoxyomenos (The Scraper) by Lysippos, the Vatican Museum
The Apoxyomenos, also known as the Scraper, is the most important and consistently attributed work to Lysippos. Apoxyomenos was based on a wrestler, Cheilon of Patrai, who died in 322 BC. Lysippos was from Sicyon were there was a prospering school of artists. His revolutionary way of sculpting the Apoxyomenos had a great effect on the future artists. Lysippos expressed his style by stating, "Other artists make men as they are, I make them as they appear." (Papakyriakou/(Anagnostou) He did just that. He created a naturalistic portrayal of the human form. The Apoxyomenos is 2.05 meters in height and was originally made out of bronze. (Hollins University) However, the recreation of marble is the only one that still exists. Apoxyomenos is slightly over life-sized and demonstrates new proportions such as a lean body and a relatively small head. All of these changes make this figure more delicate and taller. The rotation of the body on the central axis is certainly a characteristic that is in fact the most defining feature of the original sculpture. This slight rotation prevents us from seeing a fully frontal view of the body from any point. This position and posture also gives the figure a three-dimensional appearance. This is a sculpture that can be looked at from all different angles. Each angle gives a slightly different perspective. His face is gazing downward, almost as if it were inviting a relationship with the viewer. The weight is mostly on the left leg; however, the trailing foot creates a twist in the hips. This distribution of weight and the swivel of the hips make him appear to be restless. The shoulders follow the movement of the arms to the figure's right. This creates a slight movement in the upper body. His arms are outstretched with the extension of one of the hands to the full the other arm is slightly beneath and bent. Lysippos shows a new willingness of artists to cover the abdomen with the arm. Unlike many other sculptors, Lysippos seems to not want the torso to be the focal point of his sculpture. Most statues that were made before Lysippos appeared as if the figure stopped doing his action and posed. Lysippos seemed to master the art of making it appear as if a picture that was taken while the figure was doing a particular action. In this case, Apoxyomenos is scraping oil off of his body after an exercise. Lysippos made Apoxyomenos more life-like by not putting as much emphasis on the muscles of the body. It is evident that this wrestler has muscles but they are not as prominent as they would be in some of the other statues of this time period, this makes the body appear to be firmer. Most everyone, especially Tiberius, loved this statue. Tiberius coveted this statue so much that he had it removed from the Warm Baths and taken to his bedchambers. The public opposed this greatly and they created an outcry at the theatre by shouting, "Give us back the Apoxyomenos."
Apoxyomenos (The Scraper) by Lysippos, the Vatican Museum
The Apoxyomenos, also known as the Scraper, is the most important and consistently attributed work to Lysippos. Apoxyomenos was based on a wrestler, Cheilon of Patrai, who died in 322 BC. Lysippos was from Sicyon were there was a prospering school of artists. His revolutionary way of sculpting the Apoxyomenos had a great effect on the future artists. Lysippos expressed his style by stating, "Other artists make men as they are, I make them as they appear." (Papakyriakou/(Anagnostou) He did just that. He created a naturalistic portrayal of the human form. The Apoxyomenos is 2.05 meters in height and was originally made out of bronze. (Hollins University) However, the recreation of marble is the only one that still exists. Apoxyomenos is slightly over life-sized and demonstrates new proportions such as a lean body and a relatively small head. All of these changes make this figure more delicate and taller. The rotation of the body on the central axis is certainly a characteristic that is in fact the most defining feature of the original sculpture. This slight rotation prevents us from seeing a fully frontal view of the body from any point. This position and posture also gives the figure a three-dimensional appearance. This is a sculpture that can be looked at from all different angles. Each angle gives a slightly different perspective. His face is gazing downward, almost as if it were inviting a relationship with the viewer. The weight is mostly on the left leg; however, the trailing foot creates a twist in the hips. This distribution of weight and the swivel of the hips make him appear to be restless. The shoulders follow the movement of the arms to the figure's right. This creates a slight movement in the upper body. His arms are outstretched with the extension of one of the hands to the full the other arm is slightly beneath and bent. Lysippos shows a new willingness of artists to cover the abdomen with the arm. Unlike many other sculptors, Lysippos seems to not want the torso to be the focal point of his sculpture. Most statues that were made before Lysippos appeared as if the figure stopped doing his action and posed. Lysippos seemed to master the art of making it appear as if a picture that was taken while the figure was doing a particular action. In this case, Apoxyomenos is scraping oil off of his body after an exercise. Lysippos made Apoxyomenos more life-like by not putting as much emphasis on the muscles of the body. It is evident that this wrestler has muscles but they are not as prominent as they would be in some of the other statues of this time period, this makes the body appear to be firmer. Most everyone, especially Tiberius, loved this statue. Tiberius coveted this statue so much that he had it removed from the Warm Baths and taken to his bedchambers. The public opposed this greatly and they created an outcry at the theatre by shouting, "Give us back the Apoxyomenos."