Galata morente (copia romana in marmo da un originale bronzeo del 230-220 a.C. circa attribuito ad Epigono) - Sala di Galata - Musei Capitolini Roma
The Dying Galatian - Roman marble copy of a Hellenistic work of the late 3rd century BC. Capitoline Museums, Rome.
La statua raffigura, con grande realismo (specie nel volto), un guerriero galata morente, semisdraiato e col volto rivolto in basso. Il soggetto presenta i tratti tipici del guerriero celtico, considerando gli zigomi alti, l'acconciatura dei capelli, dalle folte e lunghe ciocche, e i baffi. In tale gusto si nota un accento sulla particolare erudizione che circolava alla corte di Pergamo.
Eccezion fatta per una torque intorno al collo (la collana tipica di quelle popolazioni), il guerriero è completamente nudo. Sulla base, attorno ad esso alcune armi abbandonate. Col tipico patetismo della scuola di Pergamo, l'artista evidenziò il dolore dello sconfitto, accentuandone il coraggio e il valore e quindi, dall'altro lato, le qualità militari dei vincitori.
The statue depicts, with great realism (especially in the face), a Galatian warrior dying, half-sided, and face down. The subject presents the typical traits of the Celtic warrior, considering high cheekbones, hair hairstyles, thick and long strokes, and mustaches. In this taste, there is an emphasis on the particular erudition that circulated at the court of Pergamo.
Except for a torque around the neck (the typical necklace of those populations), the warrior is completely naked. On the base, around it some abandoned weapons. With the typical patheticism of the Pergamian school, the artist highlighted the pain of defeat, accentuating the courage and the value, and on the other hand, the military qualities of the winners.
The artistic quality and expressive pathos of the statue aroused great admiration among the educated classes in the 17th and 18th centuries and was a "must-see" sight on the Grand Tour of Europe undertaken by young men of the day. Byron was one such visitor, commemorating the statue in his poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage:
I see before me the gladiator lie
He leans upon his hand—his manly brow
Consents to death, but conquers agony,
And his drooped head sinks gradually low—
And through his side the last drops, ebbing slow
From the red gash, fall heavy, one by one...
Galata morente (copia romana in marmo da un originale bronzeo del 230-220 a.C. circa attribuito ad Epigono) - Sala di Galata - Musei Capitolini Roma
The Dying Galatian - Roman marble copy of a Hellenistic work of the late 3rd century BC. Capitoline Museums, Rome.
La statua raffigura, con grande realismo (specie nel volto), un guerriero galata morente, semisdraiato e col volto rivolto in basso. Il soggetto presenta i tratti tipici del guerriero celtico, considerando gli zigomi alti, l'acconciatura dei capelli, dalle folte e lunghe ciocche, e i baffi. In tale gusto si nota un accento sulla particolare erudizione che circolava alla corte di Pergamo.
Eccezion fatta per una torque intorno al collo (la collana tipica di quelle popolazioni), il guerriero è completamente nudo. Sulla base, attorno ad esso alcune armi abbandonate. Col tipico patetismo della scuola di Pergamo, l'artista evidenziò il dolore dello sconfitto, accentuandone il coraggio e il valore e quindi, dall'altro lato, le qualità militari dei vincitori.
The statue depicts, with great realism (especially in the face), a Galatian warrior dying, half-sided, and face down. The subject presents the typical traits of the Celtic warrior, considering high cheekbones, hair hairstyles, thick and long strokes, and mustaches. In this taste, there is an emphasis on the particular erudition that circulated at the court of Pergamo.
Except for a torque around the neck (the typical necklace of those populations), the warrior is completely naked. On the base, around it some abandoned weapons. With the typical patheticism of the Pergamian school, the artist highlighted the pain of defeat, accentuating the courage and the value, and on the other hand, the military qualities of the winners.
The artistic quality and expressive pathos of the statue aroused great admiration among the educated classes in the 17th and 18th centuries and was a "must-see" sight on the Grand Tour of Europe undertaken by young men of the day. Byron was one such visitor, commemorating the statue in his poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage:
I see before me the gladiator lie
He leans upon his hand—his manly brow
Consents to death, but conquers agony,
And his drooped head sinks gradually low—
And through his side the last drops, ebbing slow
From the red gash, fall heavy, one by one...