Chapter 1739: Incomplete beauty

After admiring "The Statue of Laocoon and His Sons", and then admiring several other famous sculptures, Ye Tian and the others came to another treasure of the town hall in the octagonal courtyard, "The Sun God on the Tower" Apollo.

This is a marble sculpture about 224 cm high, but it is a replica of the ancient Roman period in the second century AD, named after it was discovered in a watchtower in Rome.

The original work is made of bronze and is about 224 cm high. It is the representative work of the famous ancient Greek sculptor Leokales in the fourth century BC, who was also a court artist in Alexandria, Macedonia.

In the long course of history, the original work of Leo Calles has been lost, and only this copy of the ancient Roman period remains.

The "Apollo, the Sun God on the Watchtower" displayed in the octagonal courtyard is not the original, but its artistic value is extraordinary, otherwise it would not become one of the treasures of the Vatican Museum.

Apollo is the sun **** in Greek mythology and the most versatile **** of light. In ancient Greece and Rome, the dignified and handsome Apollo was regarded as a symbol of male beauty.

In this famous sculpture, the sculptor used idealized beauty to shape Apollo, vividly modeling his bodybuilding posture when the arrow was off the string.

His head is raised slightly to the left, his eyes are looking straight at the arm holding the bow in front, and the joy of victory is in his eyes.

The sculptor relied on his proficient carving skills and used the carving knife in his hand to show Apollo's graceful posture, well-proportioned limbs, and elegant form, highlighting Apollo's bright and heroic spirit.

From the perspective of the viewer, the composition of the entire sculpture is stable and well-proportioned. Although the hands and forearms have been destroyed, it does not affect the overall harmonious beauty of the work.

In the history of Western art, this Apollo sculpture has a very important position, in terms of aesthetics, it is even no less than "Venus with Broken Arm".

Just as "Venus with Broken Arm" represents the most beautiful female human body, this "Apollo, the Sun God on the Lookout" is recognized as a model of human body beauty and an ideal shape for young men.

After standing in front of this sculpture and enjoying it quietly for a while, Ye Tiancai began to explain and introduce the story behind this famous sculpture.

"This "Apollo, the Sun God on the Watchtower" is a replica, carved in the second century AD. It was specifically made by the master engraver in ancient Rome. It is currently impossible to test.

The original work is the representative work of the famous ancient Greek sculptor Leochales in the fourth century BC. It is a bronze figure sculpture, about 224 cm high, but unfortunately it has been lost.

In fact, there is a more famous statue of the sun **** Apollo in this shape, that is, the colossus of the sun **** in Rhodes, Greece, known as one of the seven wonders of the world.

The seven wonders of the ancient world mentioned here refer to the seven architectural wonders of the Nile River Basin, the Mesopotamia Basin, and the islands of the Aegean Sea in the prosperous areas of ancient civilization.

The seven wonders of buildings or statues are amazing with their huge scale, beauty or unique construction methods, reflecting the splendid culture created by the continuous progress of mankind.

The earliest theory of the Seven Wonders was proposed by Antipater, a traveler in the third century BC, and another theory was proposed by the Byzantine scientist Philo in the second century BC.

They are the Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis, the Statue of Olympian Zeus, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of the Sun God of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

The Colossus of the Sun God of Rhode Island is the most mysterious of the seven wonders. It had only 56 years of life before it fell due to the earthquake. Archaeologists have yet to determine its location and appearance.

As the name suggests, this colossus of the sun **** is located in the port of Rhode Island in ancient Greece. It was completed in 282 BC and is 33 meters high, about the same height as the Statue of Liberty in New York.

From this point of view, the casting time of the colossus of the sun **** in Rhode Island was later than the work of the famous ancient Greek sculptor Leokales, and it is likely that it was cast based on his work.

More than 2,300 years ago, the army of the Kingdom of Macedonia attacked Rhode Island in an attempt to occupy the island. The residents of the island resisted stubbornly. After more than a year, they finally drove away the invaders.

In order to celebrate the victory, the residents of Rhode Island melted all the weapons they had seized and cast them into a huge colossus of the sun god, because Apollo is said to be the protector of Rhode Island.

According to legend, this colossus of the sun **** wears a crown of sun rays, holds a whip in his left hand, and a high torch in his right. It stands on a stone seat in the port with two feet, and ships can enter and exit from under its crotch.

In ancient Greece, it is not uncommon to cast statues about ten meters in height, but the colossus of 33 meters in height is unprecedented, so the Rhodes sun **** colossus was included in the seven wonders.

It is a pity that about fifty years later, in 226 BC, this great colossus was toppled by a major earthquake, and then it lay on the original site of Rhode Island for nearly a thousand years.

In 654 AD, the Arabs invaded Rhodes Island, Greece, and smashed the colossus of the sun **** and shipped them all to Syria. It is said that it took 900 camels to ship the broken copper pieces.

Today, we have no chance to see the colossus of the sun **** in Rhodes, nor can we see the original work of the famous ancient Greek sculptor Leokales. Fortunately, we can still see the Apollo in front of us.

Speaking of this, Ye Tian couldn't help flashing a trace of regret in his eyes, and everyone else at the scene was the same. Everyone felt a little regretful.

Next, Ye Tian continued to introduce this exquisite sculpture, the explanation is still so professional and wonderful.

After a few minutes, the explanation was over. The group of them stood here and enjoyed it quietly for a while before turning and leaving, and walked to the next famous sculpture.

It didn't take long for Ye Tian and the others to visit the sculptures displayed in the octagonal courtyard.

Later, under the leadership of Antonio and Leonardo, they left the octagonal courtyard and walked into a new exhibition hall.

As soon as he entered this exhibition hall, Antonio began to introduce the situation here.

"Steven, Betty, and everyone else, here is the famous Muse Hall, which is relatively large in size and has several small pavilions. Each pavilion is very exciting and worthy of a closer look.

In the Muse Hall, there are many sculptures from ancient Greece and ancient Rome~www.wuxiaspot.com~ and many exquisite classical murals, such as Tommaso’s "Apollo and the Muse"

However, Ye Tian ignored Antonio's introduction and did not give any response.

The first time he entered this exhibition hall, he was completely attracted by a sculpture that was placed in the center of the exhibition hall and surrounded by ropes. Looking at the sculpture intently, there was nothing else in his eyes!

It was a very severely mutilated human body sculpture. The head and arms of the portrait, as well as the parts of the legs below the knees, have been lost. I don't know where I left it, and the body is mottled!

At first glance, the sculpture looks like it was picked up from a garbage dump. It has no value and no beauty at all. It is small in size, not to mention majestic!

However, in Ye Tian's eyes, this incomplete human sculpture radiated extremely bright light, which made him dazzled and overwhelmed!

In the height of the Renaissance more than five hundred years ago, the master of art Michelangelo was like him. This incomplete sculpture also made Michelangelo in his youth worship it!

And Michelangelo's life-long figure sculptures and paintings are deeply influenced by this incomplete sculpture. Most of them have big waists, bulging muscles, abnormally developed limbs, and full of vigorous vitality.

This is the third treasure of the town hall in the sculpture category of the Vatican Museum. "Remnant Body" by an unknown sculptor in ancient Greece. Its artistic value is no worse than the two treasures of the town hall seen before~www. wuxiaspot.com~ The other two sculptures of the town hall's treasure level are naturally "Laocoon and the Sons Statue" and "Apollo, the Sun God on the Watch Tower".