id:			161695
accession number:	2000.6
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2000.6
updated:		2021-03-27 12:16:42.723000

Statuette of an Athlete, 510-500 BC. Greece, Peloponnesus, late archaic - early classical period. Bronze (solid cast); overall: 21.5 cm (8 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 2000.6

title:				Statuette of an Athlete
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			510-500 BC
creation date earliest:		-510
creation date latest:		-500
current location:		102B Greek
creditline:			John L. Severance Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Greece, Peloponnesus, late archaic - early classical period
technique:	bronze (solid cast)
department:	Greek and Roman Art
collection:	GR - Greek
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 21.5 cm (8 7/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	Ernest Ascher Collection; acquired by Jacques Chalmin in the early 1960s; sold by Jean-Luc Chalmin
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 
This robust athlete exudes power, despite his damaged feet and missing hands.

digital description: 
Striding forward with his right arm raised behind his head, this powerful figure conveys a naturalistic sense of form and movement associated with Greek sculpture created around 500 BC. Even without its right hand and the object it once held, other features of this statuette—especially its strong physique, posture, and clean-shaven face—all suggest that it represents an athlete, likely preparing to throw a javelin. For while the gods Zeus and Poseidon also strike similar poses in small bronzes of the period (holding a thunderbolt or trident, respectively), these gods would be bearded.

wall description: 
This bronze statuette brilliantly and uniquely represents a fleeting transitional moment in the history of Greek sculpture. Between 510 and 500 BC, Greek sculptors moved away from the surface patterning of the Archaic period toward a revolutionary breakthrough in the natural representation of the human form. This change would determine the essence of the early classical figural style known as the "Severe Style." With its striding pose and raised arm, the statuette demonstrates, more clearly than any surviving Greek sculpture in the round, this new understanding of the way the human body moves. The figure's nudity, impressive physique, short hairstyle, and distinctive pose all indicate that an athlete (most likely a javelin thrower) is represented. Today's enthusiasm for and celebration of both sports and athletes come directly from the ancient Greek idea of the victorious athlete as the embodiment of arete (excellence). The heavy, sharply defined musculature suggests a master sculptor from the Peloponnesus--the peninsula forming the southern part of Greece. Although damaged in antiquity, the figure's power and confidence remain compelling.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	May, Sally Ruth, Jane Takac, and Barbara J. Bradley. <em>Knockouts: A Pocket Guide</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001.
	page number: 	p. 15, no. 10.
	url:		

	Cleveland Museum of Art, David Franklin, and C. Griffith Mann. <em>Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2012.
	page number: 	pp. 32-33 (M. Bennett).
	url:		

	Cleveland Museum of Art, Frederick E. Bidwell, and Leslie Cade. <em>The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. 2014.
	page number: 	p. 80
	url:		

	Bennett, M. November 2000. "Acquisition: An Ancient Sports Celebrity," <em>Members magazine / Cleveland Museum of Art.</em>
	page number: 	pp. 6-7.
	url:		

	Cleveland Museum of Art, “Ancient Greek Statuette Among First Acquisitions of Reid’s Tenure as Director,” March 17, 2000, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
	page number: 	
	url:		https://archive.org/details/cmapr4321

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2000.6/2000.6_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2000.6/2000.6_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2000.6/2000.6_full.tif