“Boxer at Rest”
This life-size Greek Hellenistic bronze sculpture, titled “Boxer at Rest”, was found in 1885 on Quirinal Hill; one of the seven hills of Rome. It is believed to have been made between 330 B.C. and 50 B.C. Scholars have attributed this sculpture to either Lysippos or Apollonius the Athenian, though the matter is still unclear. Regardless, it is definitely regarded as Greek and not an Italian copy. The Romans commonly made their own copies of Greek sculptures.
“Boxer at Rest” was already several hundred years old by the time it was brought to ancient Rome. It was originally housed in the Baths of Constantine to be admired by Constantine and his contemporaries.
This sculpture depicts a boxer seated just after a fight. The artist added red copper to patches of areas across the body, looking like wounds. Hellenistic art is quite stylized. Some of those stylistic features can be seen in this piece with the tightly curled hair and beard. This is a common feature of Hellenistic art.
Though the hair is stylized, the pose and the boxer himself display an abundance of realism. He sits in the nude looking half back towards the right. There is fine detail seen in his face with the seemingly broken nose, scars, and squinting eyes. He has cauliflower ears. The hand wraps, or caesti, which he is wearing are extremely natural and realistic. Very unique for the often highly stylized Hellenistic art.
Boxing was a sport that was usually practiced by every man in ancient Greece, even the noble men. This is much different from ancient Rome, where only slaves were used as gladiators to fight in arenas.
“Boxer at Rest” is currently on display at the Palazzo Massimo from the collections of Museo Nazionale Romano in Rome, Italy.
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