Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
ADJUNCT MODULE B: ITALIAN ART
Preferred Title:
Orestes and Elektra
Image View:
Detail, head of the male figure, seen from below
Creator:
Menelaos (Roman (ancient) sculptor, 1st century BCE)
Location:
repository: Museo Nazionale Romano (Rome, Lazio, Italy)
Location Note:
via Sant’Apollinare, 46 (Palazzo Altemps)
GPS:
41.901169 12.473062
Date:
ca. 99-50 BCE (creation)
Cultural Context:
Roman (ancient)
Style Period:
Late Republican
Work Type 1:
sculpture (visual work)
Classification:
Sculpture and Installations
Material:
marble
Technique:
carving (processes)
Measurements:
1.92 m (height)
Subjects:
literary or legendary; mythology (Classical)
Description:
The work has the signature ("Menelaos pupil of Stephanos made (this)"), first half 1st century BCE. This sculpture was found in the grounds of the Villa Ludovisi in Rome and is ascribed to the sculptor Menelaus. Guesses have been made concerning the figures represented in this sculpture. The comparative size and protecting demeanor of the female figure have led some to believe that this might be the representation of a mother and son, perhaps Penelope and Telemachos, rather than brother and sister. In any case, the sculpture is thought to depict a moment of anagnorisis, a recognition scene, such as the one of Orestes and Electra in Aeschylus' Libation Bearers. (Source: Columbia College Core Curriculum; http://www.college.c olumbia.edu/core/)
Collection:
Adjunct Module B: Italian Art
Identifier:
7A3-R-PAL-OEE-A09
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.

Orestes and Elektra