Red marble statue of a 'faun' (satyr)
The sculpture was discovered in 1736 at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli. The delicate and laborious restoration work was entrusted to Clemente Bianchi and Bartolomeo Cavaceppi. Numerous additions in garnet red marble, with evident greyish veins, have not particularly changed the ancient structure or image. The sculpture aroused the admiration of travellers and museum cataloguers since 1746, when it was purchased for the Capitoline collections. The figure is supported on the right leg, while the left, in keeping with the original, is advanced and shows the foot rotated outwards, to indicate the rhythm of the dance. The idea of movement is conveyed both by the slight rotation to the right, and by the musculature that presents very contracted masses along the back and in the buttocks, placed on oblique planes, in the centre of which is inserted a tufted tail resting on the left buttock. The upper part of the torso, characterised by the presence of the nebris (deer skin) knotted on the right shoulder, has well-defined muscle masses with digitalisation of the ribs.
The face, framed by long sideburns separated into locks, has prominent cheekbones, a half-open mouth in a smile that leaves the crown of the teeth visible. The empty orbital cavities were probably filled with the insertion of metals or semiprecious stones. The fauns had, among their properties, that of fertilizing the flocks and of defending from the attacks of wolves and were associated with the idea of abundant harvests, being, in many cases, represented with rich cornucopias. These creatures, connected to the cult of Dionysus, were probably part of the procession of the god and are depicted in a state of drunkenness, in the act of dancing, according to the iconography of the "joker" and the "drunkard" companion of Dionysus, closer to the human image and well detached from the distant demonic origins. This type of image was probably used in decorative contexts of horti, coinciding with the exaltation of bucolic motifs, and spread in Roman sculptures that took up themes of mature Hellenism, of the late 2nd century BCE.
Although it's called a 'faun', it's really a satyr and should be referred to as one. 'Faun' was mostly a made-up term in the modern era, in reference to Faunus, a nature spirit or god, who was the equivalent of the god Pan and was rendered with horns.
This sculpture has given its name to the room, known as the Hall of the Faun. The walls feature a series of inscriptions, including the famous bronze table with the Lex de imperio Vespasiani, with which the Senate authorised the transfer of power to the Emperor Vespasian in 69 CE.
Roman, 2nd century CE. From an original of the late Hellenistic period. Found at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli in 1736.
Size: 167.5 cm/65.94 in (5'6").
Musei Capitolini, Palazzo Nuovo, Rome (inv. MC0657)
Red marble statue of a 'faun' (satyr)
The sculpture was discovered in 1736 at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli. The delicate and laborious restoration work was entrusted to Clemente Bianchi and Bartolomeo Cavaceppi. Numerous additions in garnet red marble, with evident greyish veins, have not particularly changed the ancient structure or image. The sculpture aroused the admiration of travellers and museum cataloguers since 1746, when it was purchased for the Capitoline collections. The figure is supported on the right leg, while the left, in keeping with the original, is advanced and shows the foot rotated outwards, to indicate the rhythm of the dance. The idea of movement is conveyed both by the slight rotation to the right, and by the musculature that presents very contracted masses along the back and in the buttocks, placed on oblique planes, in the centre of which is inserted a tufted tail resting on the left buttock. The upper part of the torso, characterised by the presence of the nebris (deer skin) knotted on the right shoulder, has well-defined muscle masses with digitalisation of the ribs.
The face, framed by long sideburns separated into locks, has prominent cheekbones, a half-open mouth in a smile that leaves the crown of the teeth visible. The empty orbital cavities were probably filled with the insertion of metals or semiprecious stones. The fauns had, among their properties, that of fertilizing the flocks and of defending from the attacks of wolves and were associated with the idea of abundant harvests, being, in many cases, represented with rich cornucopias. These creatures, connected to the cult of Dionysus, were probably part of the procession of the god and are depicted in a state of drunkenness, in the act of dancing, according to the iconography of the "joker" and the "drunkard" companion of Dionysus, closer to the human image and well detached from the distant demonic origins. This type of image was probably used in decorative contexts of horti, coinciding with the exaltation of bucolic motifs, and spread in Roman sculptures that took up themes of mature Hellenism, of the late 2nd century BCE.
Although it's called a 'faun', it's really a satyr and should be referred to as one. 'Faun' was mostly a made-up term in the modern era, in reference to Faunus, a nature spirit or god, who was the equivalent of the god Pan and was rendered with horns.
This sculpture has given its name to the room, known as the Hall of the Faun. The walls feature a series of inscriptions, including the famous bronze table with the Lex de imperio Vespasiani, with which the Senate authorised the transfer of power to the Emperor Vespasian in 69 CE.
Roman, 2nd century CE. From an original of the late Hellenistic period. Found at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli in 1736.
Size: 167.5 cm/65.94 in (5'6").
Musei Capitolini, Palazzo Nuovo, Rome (inv. MC0657)