A ‘Polycleitan’ Head in the British Museum1

• Published in: The Journal of Hellenic studies 1911-11, Vol.31, p.21-30
• Main Author: Gardner, Ernest A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0075-4269; 2041-4099
• DOI: 10.2307/624733

The artistic character of Polycleitus is attested by ancient writers in remarkably clear and definite language; his position at the head of the Argive School of sculpture during the latter half of the fifth century also seems easy to understand. Friedrich's identification of the Doryphoros, which has met with universal acceptance, supplied the necessary link between the literary evidence and extant sculpture; and with this help the Diadoumenos and the Amazon soon fell into their places. But even here the study of the work of Polycleitus is by no means free from difficulty; the extant copies of the Diadoumenos vary perhaps more than those of any other well-known work, and there are associated with them other statues, whether variations on the same type or different renderings of the same subject, which have added to the confusion. Then there is a whole mass of statues which have been loosely grouped together as ‘Polycleitan,’ some of them perhaps copies of the master's own work, others probably to be attributed to his pupils or his direct influence, others more remotely affected by the traditions of his school; and in some of these the influence of Myron, of Cresilas, or of other sculptors, has to be recognised and assigned its proper value. It is evident therefore that the study of a ‘Polycleitan’ head offers a problem by no means so simple as it appears at first sight. At present we are concerned only with one of the numerous types that fall into this category; but it is difficult if not impossible to consider any such type without some general discussion of the larger class to which it belongs.