Black Basalt Statue : ‘The Scraper’ Torso : after Lysippos Apoxyomenos

An exceptional and well-studied large-scale carving of a torso in black basalt after the Roman antique. Depicted life-sized, standing in contrapposto with his weight on his left leg, the right slightly advanced, the left arm projecting forward, the figure with softly-modeled musculature.

Italy, 20th Century

Width: 45 cms (17.7 ins)
Height: 100 cms (39.5 ins)
Now mounted on a stand by Colin Bowles with a rotating base

This remarkable piece is an imposing black basalt carving after the antique torso in the classical style. The sculpture is a life-sized representation of a standing figure with his weight on his left leg, in a pose known as contrapposto, and his right leg slightly advanced. The torso is depicted with softly-modeled musculature, and the left arm projects forward. The piece is a stunning rendition of the Pentelic marble copy found in the Museo Pio-Clementino in Rome, which was discovered during an excavation in Trastevere in 1849. This sculpture is larger than lifesize and is characterised by the new canon of proportion pioneered by Lysippos, with a slightly smaller head and longer and thinner limbs. (1:8 of the total height, rather than the 1:7 of Polykleitos)