Important Unique Italian Sculpture ATENA LEMNIA IN WHITE CARRARA MARBLE 19th Century Italy Head in white Carrara marble, sculpted by us by hand with the aid of the "stitch machine", copied from a plaster cast from the original in the Bologna museum. Museum base 15x15x15 cm with steel pin HEIGHT 28 cm WIDTH 18 cm DEPTH 22 cm WEIGHT 28 kg ARTIST / DESIGNER / ARCHITECT Phidias (Athens, around 490 BC – Athens, around 430 BC) MUSEUM TYPE BASE INCLUDED 15x15x15 + steel pin cm MATERIAL White Carrara marble MUSEUM WHERE THE ORIGINAL Civic Archaeological Museum is EXHIBITED, Bologna Perfect conditions Athena Lemnia was a bronze statue, made by Phidias in the 5th century BC. C. and which was located in the Acropolis of Athens. History Athens had sent a large group of settlers to the island of Lemnos in 450 BC. C. Later, the colonists, in gratitude, sent Pericles money so that he could pay tribute to Athena. Pericles commissioned a statue which was therefore called Lemnia. There is a possible Roman copy of this missing statue, formed by the union of two marble fragments: a head from the Civic Archaeological Museum of Bologna and a body from the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Dresden. The statue was somewhat larger than life; He had the spear in one hand and with the other he held his helmet, thus having his head uncovered. The synthesis of strength and elasticity in their clothes stood out. The pleats were straight and ribbed. The aegis appeared crossed and could be a precedent for the Athena represented on the western pediment of the Parthenon. The three famous statues of Athena - Promachos, Lemnia, Parthenos - created by Phidias represent so many stages in his work. All three were located on the Athenian Acropolis and rivaled each other in splendor. Unfortunately, no original has survived and we can only appreciate its charms through the existing copies. Around the year 450, a bronze statue of Athena, 2 m high, which had been commissioned from Phidias by the colonists, was consecrated on the Athenian Acropolis. who were leaving for the island of Lemnos. It was the Athena Lemnia, the exquisite beauty. This is how it was known in Antiquity, since Pliny says that it was "tam eximiae pulchritudinis ut formae cognomen acceperit." Luciano was enthusiastic about Lemnia's profile and that gives an idea of Luciano's good taste and how much he understood about art. Unlike the Promachos, the Lemnia represents Athena in a peaceful attitude, dressed with a peplum open on one side and cinched above the apoptygma, with the aegis extended over the chest and the head uncovered and inclined, fixing her gaze on the helmet that He holds in his right hand. The reconstruction of the original was a notable success by Furtwängler, who associated the best copy of the body preserved in Dresden with a copy of the head preserved in Bologna. The new typological scheme indicates that, towards the middle of the century, there is an evolution that also affects the style, since the Athena Lemnia has a more dynamic rhythm and a more advanced weighting than the Prómachos. Without a doubt, the greatest attraction of the work lies in the head, whose structure stands out admirably through the taenia that surrounds it. The spherical shape of the head and the severe beauty of the face acquire all their plastic strength in the profile, to which both the modeling of the features and the treatment of the hairstyle based on small, independent and finely articulated strands contribute. The novelties introduced by Phidias in this work, which also affect the treatment of the cloth, acquire enormous significance, because they constitute the starting point with respect to the new evolutionary stage reached in the Parthenos, hence the Athena Lemnia represents a milestone in the production fidíaca, in addition to being the summum in the ideal of classical beauty.
Get in Touch
Make An Offer
We noticed you are new to Pamono!
Please accept the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy
Get in Touch
Make An Offer
Almost There!
To follow your conversation on the platform, please complete the registration. To proceed with your offer on the platform, please complete the registration.Successful
Thanks for your inquiry, someone from our team will be in touch shortly
If you are a Design Professional, please apply here to get the benefits of the Pamono Trade Program