Portrait of a Man (detail), about 100 B.C. Bronze, white paste and dark stone, 32.5 x 22 x 22 cm. Image courtesy of the National Archaeological Museum, Athens. Photo: Marie Mauzy / Art Resource, NY
Power and Pathos: Bronze Sculpture of the Hellenistic World
GETTY CENTER
Exhibitions Pavilion
During the three centuries between the reigns of Alexander the Great and Augustus, artists around the Mediterranean created innovative, realistic sculptures of physical power and emotional intensity. Bronze—with its tensile strength, reflective effects, and ability to hold the finest detail—was employed for dynamic compositions, dazzling displays of the nude body, and graphic expressions of age and character. This unprecedented international loan exhibition unites about fifty significant bronzes of the Hellenistic age.
This exhibition was organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington with the participation of the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Toscana. It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
