- Ludovisi Dionysus
The over-lifesize marble "Dionysus with Panther and Satyr" in the
Palazzo Altemps , [Inventory number 8606.] Rome, is a Roman work of the second century CE, found in the sixteenth century [It appeared in Giovan Battista Cavalieri, "Antiquarum Statuarum Urbis Romae tertius et quartus liber", (Rome, 1594), plate 74.] on theQuirinal Hill at the time foundations were being dug for Palazzo Mattei at Quattro Fontane. [According to the tradition recorded by the sculptor-dealer and diaristFlaminio Vacca , "Memorie di varie antichità trovate in diversi luoghi della citta di Roma", Rome, 1704, (memoria 37).] The statue was purchased for the Ludovisi collection, where it was first displayed in front of the "Palazzo Grande", the main structure of theVilla Ludovisi , and by 1641 in the gallery of sculptures in the "Casino Capponi" [ [http://mora.sns.it/rel_oggetti_fonti.asp?Lang=ITA&id_txt=3213 Gruppo colossale di Dionisio e satiro] : description, history, conservation, bibliography] erected forCardinal Ludovico Ludovisi in the villa's extensive grounds. By 1885, it had been removed to the new Palazzo del Principe di Piombino, nearby invia Veneto . With the rest of the Boncompagni-Ludovisi collection, it was purchased in 1901 for the City of Rome, as the Ludovisi collection was dispersed and the Villa's ground built over at the end of the nineteenth century. The formula, with somewhat exaggerated "contrapposto ", the god's right hand resting on his head, is based on the Apollo Lyceus, which is variously attributed and dated. This ivy-crownedDionysus is accompanied by the panther that signalises hisnuminous presence, and asatyr of reduced size, a member of his retinue. Long locks of his hair fall girlishly over his shoulders and in his left hand he holds a bunch of grapes,emblem atic of his status as god ofwine .The original elements are the heads, torsos and thighs of Dionysus and the satyr. The arms of the satyr and the lower legs and base are modern— that is, sixteenth-century— restorations.
Notes
References
*Venetucci, Beatrice Palma. "Museo Nazionale Romano. Le Sculture" vol. I.4, Antonio Giuliano ed., Rome, 1983:84-90
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