Apollo, also known as the Kouros Pisoni, "Buried by Vesuvius" at the Getty Villa until October 28, 2019

Apollo, also known as the Kouros Pisoni, "Buried by Vesuvius" at the Getty Villa until October 28, 2019.
One of approximately 90 sculptures in bronze and marble that once adorned the Villa dei Papiri, Apollo, also known as the Kouros Pisoni, is depicted in the archaic style rather than the Hellenistic style that dominates most of the art from the villa. Upon its discovery, scholars identified this bust as an Archaic Greek original from the sixth century BCE on account of its stiff, stylized appearance. More recent analysis, however, suggests that it may be an ancient forgery of an Archaic work: its bronze and copper alloy parallels that of later bronzes, its ragged edges were deliberately cast to appear broken, and drip marks on the back betray attempts to make it look antique. The once hollow eyes were filled and painted in the eighteenth century. It was found at the east end of the rectangular peristyle of the Villa dei Papiri in 1756.


Image: Apollo, also known as the Kouros Pisoni, from the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum courtesy of Allan Gluck.

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