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Preview image of work. marble,  Male Torso 3627
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1950.3

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Male Torso

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Artist

Artist Unidentified (Greco-Roman)

Title

Male Torso

Creation Date

001-200

Century

1st -2nd century

Dimensions

19 1/8 in. x 12 1/16 in. x 6 1/4 in. (48.5 cm. x 30.6 cm. x 15.9 cm.)

Classification

Sculpture

Creation Place

Ancient Mediterranean

Medium and Support

marble

Credit Line

Gift of Mrs. Mortimer Warren

Copyright

Public Domain

Accession Number

1950.3

This Roman torso was likely inspired by sculptures produced by Polykleitos, a famous artist of the fifth century BCE credited with developing standards for representing the ideal proportions of the human body. The main principle of his treatise on the subject, called the Kanon (standard or rule in ancient Greek), is expressed by the Greek words symmetria (symmetry or proportion), isonomia (equilibrium), and rhythmos (rhythm or style). Polykleitos writes that "perfection comes about little by little through many numbers," meaning that a statue should be composed of clearly definable parts, all related to one another through a system of ideal mathematical proportions and balance. Characterized by a cant of the hips counterbalanced by an opposing slope of the shoulders along with a clear definition of musculature, the “Polykleitan” body type served as an ideal well into the Roman period.