Statuette Of Youthful Dionysos Analysis

The Winnipeg Art Gallery hosted Olympus, an exhibition on Greek art. One of the many artworks that were displayed was a Statuette of Youthful Dionysos, god of wine and theatre.

This particular marble sculpture s is one of the thirteen pieces that were showcased in the Gods

Among Us display. This formal description will proceed in describing the physical description, the condition of the work, stylistic description and my personal reaction to the work.

The marble Statuette of Youthful Dionysos stands about 30 inches tall. The arms, legs, nose, and the private part are all hacked, and the entire sculpture is supported by two metal rods that connect from the legs to the base. Long locks of hair are falling onto the shoulders and the

Hellenistic and Classical portrayals usually depicted him as a feminine and pretty youth with soft curvy body, and holding a bunch of grapes. He was sometimes depicted drunk, leaning his body on an escort. Lastly, some depictions portrayed him as an infant or child in the arms of either Seilenos or

Hermes.

Like any other Greek sculptures, the Statuette of Dionysos is damaged in many ways, as it is obvious that these damages indicate the work surviving through time, but there are other factors that made the work look as it is today. Most sculptures were seen as symbols of politics during their era. Hacking those sculptures was a way to show political opposition or protest, and the statuette was one of the unfortunate sculptures that were affected by these acts. This particular statuette of Dionysos has had a few noticeable damages. Parts of the two legs are cut off; the right leg cut from below the kneecap and the left with the knee also cut off. Other parts such as the arms, the nose, and the genitalia are also cut off. The entire piece is also covered with stain spots. The most noticeable part is the discoloration from the top left part of the head, to the right shoulder, all the way down to the right part of the

The damages already tell us that that the work went through different tests through time, but the the style tell us something else. Apart from it telling us that it’s a sculpture of Dionysos, it tells us about a little bit of culture. The unclothed Dionysos indicate a common practice amongst the men, which is nudity. The sculptor depicted Dionysos with a slightly S-shaped body to show elegance and poise. But this image of elegance and poise seems to contrast with the true personality of Dionysos. As I was perusing around the exhibition, I took the chance of finding out which god’s

True nature is similar to mine by taking a quick quiz that matches a person’s personality with a god’s personality. I ended up being matched with Dionysos’, who apparently has an exuberant, opulent, and extravagant nature, which I can definitely be most of the time. But I didn’t quite get that vibe from the first time I saw the statuette of him, as god’s sculptures were made to exude elegance, poise, power, and overall perfection, which is really the recurring theme in every Greek and Roman sculptures. Therefore, the sculptor was successful at interpreting

Dionysos in his own perspective or making him appear in a way that he’s supposed to