#classical ideal

[desimonewayland]

Michael Powolny, A pottery figure of Neptune, circa 1915-16 - white painted fluted wood pedestal / figure 126cm high (4ft. 1 1/2 in.)

The figure of Neptune was made for the atrium of the men’s steam room of the ‘Dianabad’ in Vienna. The bath was part of a hotel with restaurant and coffee house and first opened its doors to the public in 1916-17. Otto Prutscher, who designed some of the interior, took his inspiration from the great Roman baths of the antique with wall mosaics, domes and niches after the classical ideal. The eight semi-circular niches were clad in yellow, gold, white and black mosaics (one sold: Sotheby’s London, Vienna 1900,  23rd September 1993, lot 73) and contained Powolny’s powerful male nudes. Their strong physique and classical connotation portrayed an image of health and awareness about body and soul. Unfortunately, the hotel was completely destroyed in 1945 and the bath badly damaged. It reopened partly in 1946, but was finally dismantled in 1965-67.

via Sotheby’s

[desimonewayland]

Spear-Bearer part of the exhibition entitled – Defining Beauty – The Body in Ancient Greek Art now at the British Museum

This statue is the result of an attempt to reconstruct Polyklet’s original work, as faithfully as possible, on the basis of existing Roman copies – a method pioneered by Adolf Furtwängler in the 19th century, which is still in use today. 

In order to “recreate” Polyklet’s original figure, between 1910 and 1912 the Munich sculptor Georg Römer reproduced what were regarded as the qualitatively most convincing and best preserved elements of three Roman copies. Cast made 1920-21.

http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/defining_beauty.aspx

[kecobe]

Michel-Martin Drölling (French; 1786–1851) View of the Gardens of the Villa Medici in Rome (French Academy) Oil on paper mounted on canvas, ca. 1811–16 Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

[kecobe]

Two Figure Studies Jan de Bisschop (Dutch; 1628–1671) After Bronzino (Italian; 1503–1572); from the Paradigmata graphices variorum artificum (Paradigms of the Graphics Arts by Various Artists), a series of etchings first published in The Hague in 1671 Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

[sogeum-light]

Mens sana in corpore sano.