The Art of Praxiteles III

The Advanced Maturity of the Sculptor

Antonio Corso

• Publisher: L'Erma di Bretschneider
• Year: 2010
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9788891311252
• Subtopic: Art General
• Index: History

This book is focused on the advanced maturity of the famous Athenian sculptor Praxiteles, who flourished in the 4th c. BC. The following works of the artist are considered: the Triad of Leto, Apollo and Artemis at Megara; the statue of Leto protecting Meliboea, a young daughter of Niobe, at Argos; the group of Drunkenness with the Resting Satyr; the group of Niobe with the dying Niobids; the statues of Success and of Good Fortune; the Personification of late Summer; the statue of Eros at Messana in Sicily as well as a statue set up on Delos. For the first time complete genealogical trees of all surviving copies and variations derived from these masterpieces are provided. The art of Praxiteles is understood in the context of the history of the time and is linked to developments in the realm of other visual arts as well as of philosophy and of literature. Thus this study leads to a new and original interpretation of the greatest late classical Greek sculptor. Biographical profile Antonio Corso was born near Padua, studied at Padua, Athens, Frankfurt and London and published more than 100 scientific works. His publications include an essay on Pericles' architecture (Venice 1986), large sections of the Italian editions of Pliny the Elder (Turin 1988) and of Vitruvius (Turin 1997), a catalogue of ancient and medieval testimonia on Praxiteles in 3 volumes (Rome 1988, 1990 and 1992) and the first two volumes of his reconstruction of the art and career of Praxiteles (Rome 2004 and 2007). He delivered several dozens of lectures and papers in academic institutions and congresses held in many European countries and is Assistant Editor of the Swiss periodical "Numismatica e Antichità Classiche. Quaderni Ticinesi".