The Arrotino, bronze cast of a 2nd - 1st century BCE Roman original at the Palace of Versailles, about 12 miles southwest of Paris, France

The Arrotino, bronze cast of a 2nd - 1st century BCE Roman original at the Palace of Versailles, about 12 miles southwest of Paris, France.
The original Arrotino is a marble Roman copy of a Hellenistic original of a slave or barbarian whetting his knife in anticipation of skinning Marsyas alive. The original sculpture was found in Rome between 1534 and 1538. It was transported to the Villa Medici and now resides in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. A number of casts were made of the work including a cast made in 1884 and displayed at the Fitzwilliam Museum. According to the Cambridge Museum of Classical Archaeology "Group sculpture was popular in Hellenistic times, and the Arrotino was part of a group encapsulating all the drama beloved of Hellenistic sculptors - the flaying of Marsyas." Marsyas, a Silenos, was an expert player of the double-piped double reed instrument known as the aulos. He challenged Apollo, the god of music, to a musical contest. The contest was judged by the Muses or the Nysean nymphs, depending on the version, and the terms stated that the winner could treat the defeated party any way he wanted. Marsyas played his flute, putting everyone there into a frenzy, and they started dancing wildly. When it was Apollo's turn, though, he played his lyre so beautifully that everyone became still and their eyes welled with tears. Apollo was declared the winner and sentenced Marsyas to be flayed alive in a cave near Celaenae for his hubris. A barbarian slave was to perform the gruesome act, and the sculpture depicts him as he crouches, sharpening his blade with an ominous mixture of concentration and curiosity on his face, his posture apprehensive yet purposeful.


Image: The Arrotino, bronze cast of a 2nd - 1st century BCE Roman original at the Palace of Versailles, about 12 miles southwest of Paris, France. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Joseolgon.

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