It is called the "Dying Gaul". It is a sculpture in the round (that means you can see it from every angle) of marble. It can be found in the Capitoline Museums in Rome, Italy.
Now, before I show it to you, I'd like to tell you a little background about this to help explain why it is such an emotional piece. The Gauls were a Celtic people who lived in the area of what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and North Italy from the Iron age Through the Roman period (5th to 1st centuries BCE). Basically, right now, all you really need to know about the Galatians is that the Romans didn't really get along with them while Julius Caesar was around.
So anyways, Around 230 BCE, there was a huge battle between the Romans and the Gauls. The Romans were led to victory by a guy named Attalus I. Soon afterwards, this sculpture was made in commemoration of the conquest:
Dying Gallic Trumpeter by Epigonos
(Click for a larger view)
Now, first off, you probably are thinking that its a pretty neat-looking sculpture, and you may even be impressed with some of the details. Before I get to the "emotional" aspects of this piece, I'd like to clear the air about the artist. I'm sure its been said before that the Romans have "stolen" a lot of ideas from the Greeks, such as the gods they worshipped and the lifestyles they had. Well this can also be said about their art. This sculpture in particular was originally cast in bronze by a greek artist named Epigonos and then later, a Roman sculptor named saw it and liked it so much that he decided to copy it. (sounds like first grade again.)
As we look at the face, you can see that the man has rather scruffy features, such as a mustache and rather unruly locks for hair. This is quite uncommon amongst Greek design in the past "Classical period" where most of the sculptures have very calm features and typically quite generic expressions (in the art history world we call this an "archaic" smile). Normally the greeks would use this "archaic smile" because they usually depicted greek people (imagine that!) or their idea of the "perfect" or "ideal" body. Whenever they did this they wanted to show the idea that the godlike person essentially transcends death by making them appear calm and constant. With this sculpture, however, it sort of captures the essence of the struggle of death and the pain of their enemies (who in this case are the Gauls).
Kritios boy, 480 BCE
Comparison between "Hellenistic" features and the Archaic Smile
*By focusing this sculpture on death and pain (and by putting so much emotion in his expression) it marks the beginning of the Hellenistic period of greek art. (yay!)*
(click for a larger view)
*Note the horn and sword fallen at his side and the fatal wound in his ribcage. The strain on his forearms and pectorals that suggests a great struggle. His stance is not at all leisurely.*
Honestly, what I find so hauntingly beautiful and extraordinary about this particular piece is how it captures the pain and struggle of death during battle (which wasn't something you would see very often back then). It is almost as if you can imagine him in motion. As if he just fell and is about to lose his strength. He is weakening and yet you can sense his strength in the contour of this muscles and how they are strained. There is an overwhelming sense of empathy here that really makes it stand out as an exceptional capture of the end of someone's life. A frozen moment in time, he is forever wounded and struggling.
Well, folks, there you are. I have successfully bored you to tears, haven't I? Enjoy your spring (I know I will) and for those of you who actually read my ramblings, I hope you enjoyed what I had to say. Please comment and let me know what you think.
~ Celerybear
