Italy, Roman / 1–100 CE
Statue of an Athlete
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Statue of an Athlete as sculpture (Italy, Roman · 1–100 CE).
For many years, this sculpture stood in the rotunda of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as marble.
The museum's collection notes: This idealized athlete recalls Greek sculptural types invented and popularized during the 400s BC. Large-scale athletes and other sculptures like this were originally created by famous artists as sanctuary dedications. Centuries later, they were widely copied and adapted by Roman sculptors, whose clients sought their own versions of earlier masterpieces. Working in marble rather than bronze, these sculptors added certain elements for stability, such as the struts and the large tree trunk beside the right leg here. Sculptures like this one are profoundly complex, made by and for Romans but descended from Greek ancestors.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtStatue of an AthleteOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.