Bronze statuette of a youth dancing

Unknown

late 4th century BCE · Bronze · Greek and Roman Art

This beautiful bronze captures a moment when the full achievement of Classical art began to be used for the representation of a single, transitory state. The youth is nude except for a crown of myrtle, an attribute of followers of the god Dionysos. His pose no longer dictates one primary view, for his torso and legs assume a true contrapposto, and his downward glance reinforced by the direction of the arms makes a rather tight spiral of the whole composition. There is a perfect congruence among all parts of the figure, but the shifts in direction evident from every angle maintain an effect of instability and impermanence.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 4th century BCE

Medium

Bronze

Culture

Greek

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Bequest of Walter C. Baker, 1971