This torso, like the MIA's Doryphoros, is a marble copy of a Greek work that was made in bronze. Because of the strength of bronze, hollow cast bronze statues were able to show greater freedom of movement. When reproducing these Greek originals, the Romans preferred to use marble. With marble the sculptors needed to plan for supports at points where the stone was weaker than bronze and would be likely to break.
Roman copies were considered works of art in their own right. The Romans were not concerned with the modern idea that a work of art must be the handiwork of an individual genius. It was more important to them that the copies convey, in Roman terms, the qualities admired in the originals.
A distinguishing feature of the Torso is the pose that depicts a weight shift. If the figure had all its limbs the weight of the body would be carried on one leg. This weight shift creates a slight S-shaped curve between the shoulders and the hips, which can also be seen in the Doryphoros.
from Ancient Art of the Mediterranean, an MIA-produced Interactive Multimedia Program for the Ancient Art Gallery
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<P>This torso, like the MIA's <a href="http://www.artsconnected.org/uia-bin/uia_doc.cgi/noframes/aceart/xmia_86.6?qtype=art"><i>Doryphoros</i></a>, is a marble copy of a Greek work that was made in bronze. Because of the strength of bronze, hollow cast bronze statues were able to show greater freedom of movement. When reproducing these Greek originals, the Romans preferred to use marble. With marble the sculptors needed to plan for supports at points where the stone was weaker than bronze and would be likely to break. </P><P>Roman copies were considered works of art in their own right. The Romans were not concerned with the modern idea that a work of art must be the handiwork of an individual genius. It was more important to them that the copies convey, in Roman terms, the qualities admired in the originals.</P><P>A distinguishing feature of the Torso is the pose that depicts a weight shift. If the figure had all its limbs the weight of the body would be carried on one leg. This weight shift creates a slight S-shaped curve between the shoulders and the hips, which can also be seen in the <a href="http://www.artsconnected.org/uia-bin/uia_doc.cgi/noframes/aceart/xmia_86.6?qtype=art"><i>Doryphoros</i></a>.</P><P>from <i>Ancient Art of the Mediterranean</i>, an MIA-produced Interactive Multimedia Program for the Ancient Art Gallery</P>
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