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TheDiscobolus byMyron ("discus thrower",Greek:Δισκοβόλος,Diskobólos) is anancient Greek sculpture completed at the start of theClassical period in around 460–450 BC that depicts an ancient Greek athlete throwing a discus. Though the original Greek bronze cast is lost, the work is known through numerous Roman copies, both full-scale ones in marble, which is cheaper than bronze,[1] such as thePalombara Discobolus, the first to be recovered, and smaller scaled versions in bronze.
A norm inAncient Greek athletics, theDiscobolus is presented nude. His pose appears unnatural to a human and is considered as per modern standards a rather inefficient way to throw the discus.[2]
Myron's skill is evident in his ability to convey a sense of movement of the body at the moment of its maximum tension and splendor within a static medium, transforming a routine athletic activity into a representation of balance and harmony. Myron is often credited with being the first sculptor to master this style. However, the great effort of the athlete is not reflected in his facial expression, which displays only a tenuous concentration. The torso shows no muscular strain, even though the limbs are outflung. The other trademark of Myron embodied in this sculpture is how well the body is proportioned: thesymmetria. The athlete's body demonstrates a sense of proportion, with meticulous attention to detail in every muscle and sinew, capturing the dynamics of a thrower's physical actions. The contrapposto stance, subtly shifting the athlete's weight from one leg to the other, imparts a semblance of motion and adds an element of realism to the artwork. The potential energy expressed in this sculpture's tightly wound pose, expressing the moment of stasis just before the release, is an example of the advancement ofClassical sculpture fromArchaic sculpture.
As Clark observed, "Myron has created the enduring pattern of athletic energy. He has taken a moment of action so transitory that students of athletics still debate if it is feasible, and he has given it the completeness of a cameo. To a modern eye, it may seem that Myron's desire for perfection has made him suppress too rigorously the sense of strain in the individual muscles".[3]
TheDiscobolus was sculpted at a time when Greece was at the zenith of its artistic and athletic achievements. Theancient Olympic Games were not just sporting events but were deeply intertwined withGreek culture andreligion. Myron's work embodies theGreek philosophy of the harmonious development of body and mind, an idea known askalokagathia, where physical beauty and prowess were celebrated as integral components of a virtuous life.
Myron'sDiscobolus was long known from descriptions, such as the dialogue inLucian of Samosata's workPhilopseudes:
When you came into the hall," he said, "didn't you notice a totally gorgeous statue up there, by Demetrios the portraitist?" "Surely you don't mean the discus-thrower," said I, "the one bent over into the throwing-position, with his head turned back to the hand that holds the discus, and the opposite knee slightly flexed, like one who will spring up again after the throw?
"Not that one," he said, "that's one ofMyron's works, that Diskobolos you speak of..."
— Lucian of Samosata,Philopseudes c. 18[4]
Prior to this statue's discovery, the termDiscobolus had been applied in the 17th and 18th centuries to a standing figure holding a discus, aDiscophoros, whichEnnio Quirino Visconti identified as theDiscobolus ofNaukydes of Argos, mentioned byPliny (Haskell and Penny 1981:200).
TheDiscobolus Palombara, the first copy of this famous sculpture to have been discovered, was found in 1781. It is a 1st-century AD copy ofMyron's original bronze. Following its discovery at a Roman property of the Massimo family, the Villa Palombara on theEsquiline Hill, it was initially restored by Giuseppe Angelini; the Massimo installed it in theirPalazzo Massimo alle Colonne and then atPalazzo Lancellotti. The Italian archaeologistGiovanni Battista Visconti identified the sculpture as a copy from the original of Myron. It was instantly famous, though the Massimo jealously guarded access to it (Haskell and Penny 1981:200).
In 1937,Adolf Hitler negotiated to buy it, and eventually succeeded in 1938, whenGaleazzo Ciano, Minister of Foreign Affairs, sold it to him for five million lire, over the protests ofGiuseppe Bottai, Minister of Education, and the scholarly community. It was shipped by rail to Munich and displayed in theGlyptothek; it was returned in 1948. It is now in theNational Museum of Rome, displayed at thePalazzo Massimo.
After the discovery of theDiscobolus Palombara a second notableDiscobolus was excavated, atHadrian's Villa in 1790, and was purchased by the English antiquary and art dealer established in Rome,Thomas Jenkins, atpublic auction in 1792. (Another example, also found at Tivoli at this date, was acquired by theVatican Museums.) The English connoisseurCharles Townley paid Jenkins £400 for the statue, which arrived at the semi-public gallery Townley commissioned in Park Street, London, in 1794. The head was wrongly restored, asRichard Payne Knight soon pointed out, but Townley was convinced his was the original and better copy.
It was bought for theBritish Museum, with the rest of Townley's marbles, in July 1805.[5]
Other Roman copies inmarble have been recovered, and torsos that were already known in the 17th century but that had been wrongly restored and completed, have since been identified as further repetitions after Myron's model. For one such example, in the early 18th centuryPierre-Étienne Monnot restored a torso that is now recognized as an example of Myron'sDiscobolus as aWounded Gladiator who supports himself on his arm as he sinks to the ground; the completed sculpture was donated before 1734 byPope Clement XII to theCapitoline Museums, where it remains.[6]
Yet another copy was discovered in 1906 in the ruins of aRoman villa at Tor Paterno in the former royal estate of Castel Porziano, now also conserved in theMuseo Nazionale Romano.[7]
In the 19th century, plaster copies ofDiscobolos could be found in many large academic collections, now mostly dispersed.
Bodies: The Exhibition includes a recreation of theDiscobolus. TheDiscus Thrower isplastinated human corpse posed like the original sculpture, discus included.[8]
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| Ludovico Ludovisi Collection |  | |
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