The Runners "Buried by Vesuvius" at the Getty Villa through October 28, 2019

The Runners "Buried by Vesuvius" at the Getty Villa through October 28, 2019.
A pair of bronze runners were found at the west end of the rectangular peristyle of the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum on October 1, 1754. Each was assembled from seven separately cast pieces: head, torso, arms, legs, and genitals. Although they were likely produced in the same workshop, analysis of their alloys shows that they were cast from different batches of metal, and subtle variances in their measurements indicate that they were not made from identical molds. One figure, with its head slightly turned, is somewhat larger than the other, suggesting that the other was modeled after it - clay molds made from this statue would have shrunk when drying. The details of the hair of the larger sculpture are also more precise.




Images: "The Runners" recovered from the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum and photographed at the Getty Villa, Roman, 1st century BCE - 1st century CE.

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