The discus thrower is a Greek sculptorMilonThe original bronze sculpture carved in about 450 BC has been lost, and the replicas are now collected in the Rome National Museum, the Terme Museum, and the Vatican Museum.
The discus thrower, based on the sports activities in real life in Greece, depicts the expressive moment of a strong man in the process of discus throwing.
When the discus selected by the sculpture was put back to the highest point and was about to be thrown, it had a strong attraction of "attracting without sending".Although it is a static sculpture, the artist has grasped the key link of the transition from one state to another, achieved the effect of making the audience feel "moving" psychologically, became a model of later art creation, and also an important material for studying ancient Greek sculpture.[1-2]
Chinese name
Discus thrower
Foreign name
Discobolus
Author
Milon
Height
About 152 cm
Material
Originally used as bronze, it is now a marble replica
Greek sculptor Miron carved bronze sculptures of discus throwers.The original work has been lost, and the copies are now collected in the Rome National Museum, the Terme Museum, and the Vatican Museum.
1791
Duplicate found
A replica of a bronze statue carved by Meron in Greece in the 5th century BC was found in Hadrian's villa in Tivoli. However, due to improper restoration methods, its face was facing in the wrong direction.It is now in the British Museum.
1938
Copy arrives in Germany
Adolf Hitler spent 5 million lira to buy a replica of the discus thrower carved by Lancelotti, a Roman marble sculpture.At the end of June, The Discus Thrower finally arrived in Germany.However, instead of going to Berlin, we went to the Ancient Sculpture Exhibition Hall in Munich where it was once exhibited.
1948
Replicas returned to Italy
The replica returned to Italy and was displayed in the National Museum of Rome five years later.
expand all
Sculpture content
Announce
edit
Discus Thrower
The discus thrower shows a typical instantaneous action of throwing discus: the athlete's upper body turns to the right, leans forward into an arch, the weight falls on the right foot, the left arm is connected to the right knee, and the right hand holds the discus and turns to the back.[3-4]
Creation background
Announce
edit
The period from 449 BC to 334 BC is the heyday of Greek sculpture art, which is called the "classical period" in the art history. A large number of outstanding sculpture works come from this period. The discus thrower is one of the existing masterpieces of art, and is also the representative work of ancient Greek sculptor Miron.[4]
The discus thrower is based on the sports activities in real life in Greece.The character image is the real image observed by the sculptor from real life, which may be to commend a sports master or competitive winner.[4]
The strong dynamic feeling of discus throwing and the stability of the statue combine very well.The center of gravity of the statue falls on the right leg, so the right leg becomes the axis that allows the whole statue body to bend, stretch and rotate freely, while maintaining the stability of the statue.The open arms of the discus thrower are like a bow full of strings, which drives the bending of the body and presents an unstable state. But the raised discus unifies all the movements of the human body, making people feel the temporary balance again.The whole statue is full of continuous sense of movement and rhythm, which breaks through the limitations of time and space in art, conveys the idea of movement, and expresses the power of harmony, fitness and youth of the human body vividly.It reflects that the artists of ancient Greece have made a qualitative leap not only in artistic skills, but also in artistic ideas and expressiveness.This statue is considered as "the eternal solidification in space".[4]
Composition
The composition of this statue sums up the complicated and contradictory movements into a few vivid and convincing gestures, which give people a sense of concentration and concentration. What's more, the author ingeniously summarizes the whole continuous process of the discus throwing movement and shows a harmonious and ideal dynamic beauty.The discus thrower's open arms are like a full bow, which makes people think of launching.The open shoulders and the shoulder pole like arms are symmetrical. It can be seen that the sculpture in the classical period likes to use the positive law.At the same time, the lines of the discus thrower's two arms and the line of his left thigh that he dragged behind form a semicircle, whose outline is like a stretched bow, and the legs and arms are connected into a pattern. The structure of all parts of the body also reflects a kind of affirmation and stability.The right leg, which is close to the ground, acts as an axis to keep the zigzag body stable.His thigh and torso form two equal diagonals on the upper side.The two circles of the discus and the head echo from left to right. The sculptor shows the timeliness in a fixed posture space. The whole artistic image is strong and moving.[1]
Comments of famous experts
Announce
edit
Neil McGregor, Director of the British Museum: The discus thrower not only represents the highest achievement of ancient Greek art, but also has an inseparable relationship with the Olympic Games.[5]
Later influence
Announce
edit
The discus thrower represents the development direction of Greek classical sculpture.This work of Milon solves the problem of the center of gravity of sculpture, provides a paradigm for capturing the instantaneous image in motion, and serves as a model for future generations of sculptors to create various sports images.[3]
In the 1948 London Olympic Games, the sculpture discus thrower was used as one of the visual images to convey the Olympic spirit to the world.[6]
Historical inheritance
Announce
edit
Inheritance of original works
The original discus thrower has been lost.[7]
Inheritance of replicas
In 1938, Adolf Hitler spent 5 million lira to buy a replica of the discus thrower carved by Lancelotti, a Roman marble sculpture.At the end of June 1938, The Discus Thrower finally arrived in Germany.However, instead of going to Berlin, we went to the Ancient Sculpture Exhibition Hall in Munich where it was once exhibited.He returned to Italy in 1948 and was displayed in the National Museum of Rome five years later.[7]
A reproduction of a bronze statue carved by Meron in Greece in the 5th century BC was found at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli in 1791. However, due to improper restoration methods, its face turned in the wrong direction.It is now in the British Museum.[7]
Copy information
Announce
edit
The original discus thrower has been lost.In the 2nd century AD, the Roman emperor, who worshiped ancient Greek civilization, ordered people to rebuild the "discus thrower", which led to the existence of three copies, which were stored in Naples, Rome and London respectively.[5]
Important exhibitions
Announce
edit
In 1938, Roman marble sculptures were exhibited at the Ancient Sculpture Exhibition Hall in Munich.[7]
The discus thrower was exhibited at the "Ancient Olympic Movement and Art" exhibition in Shanghai Museum from May to July 12, 2008.[5]
The discus thrower was exhibited at the British Museum Olympic Collection Exhibition held at the Hong Kong Cultural Museum from August to November 2008.The discus thrower, which came to Shanghai this time, is one of the three copies of the ancient Roman period stored in the British Museum in London.[5][8]
About the author
Announce
edit
Miron, an ancient Greek sculptor, was the pioneer of the classical period.His life story is unknown.According to materials and legends, he was born in Yiyesela, Greece, and has long been active in Athens.It is said that he has received good sports training and is very strong, and can carry bulls.The themes and objects of his works are mostly legendary gods, sportsmen, heroes and animals, but most of his works have been lost, and the remains are replicas of the Roman period.His representative works include Athena and Marcia and the discus thrower, and some of them are collected in the Lateran Art Museum in Rome, Italy.Milong is good at depicting the state of the characters in motion with realistic artistic techniques, giving the statue vivid expression. These perfect artistic skills are in his works.It is beyond the reach of later sculptors.He has played a huge role in promoting the development of Greek sculpture art. Since he began, Greek sculpture art has entered a new golden age, and gradually becomes mature.[9]
