No Speed Bumps

Perfect Prototypes

Sculpture Fragment, Greek C4 BC (8 1/4")

Every now and then you come across a painting or a piece of sculpture that seems the perfect prototype for what your have in mind for that art form.

The fragment above of an antique Greek sculpture of the C4 BC IS the Greek ideal of male beauty for me.

It is believed to be carved under the direct influence of Praxiteles ...

Hermes by Praxiteles C4 BC

... and mostly likely by one of his school.

I found this quite extraordinarily beautiful work on the blog 'Et Apres?', the author of which goes on to quote from The New York Times of 1916 ...

"A fragment of an entire statue, the head, has remained intact, and is a remarkable example of Greek beauty. It has a charm from every point of view. The profile is no more lovely than the full face and every feature is lovely in itself. The car is small and well shaped, and the hair grows back from the low brow in small curves. It is of heroic size, the face measuring 8 1/4 inches. It is believed to be an original Greek work of the fourth century B.C., executed under the immediate influence of Praxiteles, and probably by a member of his school." (The New York Times, April 8, 1916).

The blog itself is very well worth a look-see, wide ranging over gay-focussed art and literature, history and biography and with a decent dollop of sexual imagery.

It posts almost alternatively in French and English - and is a great read.