TY - JOUR

T1 - in saxo simul et in fonte – eine Aktaiongruppe vom Lago Albano

AU - Filser, Wolfgang Thomas Gerhard

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - This article examines a Roman sculpture excavated in 2008 by the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici del Lazio on the shore of Lake Albano near Castel Gandolfo, found within a Roman cistern that came to light during illegal construction work on private property. The sculpture depicts a human male clad in stag’s fur, which leads to the conclusion that it is the mythic hunter Actaeon. On the grounds of formal and iconographic observations, it is argued that the figure must have been part of a more extensive sculptural group representing a certain moment in the myth of Diana and Actaeon, hitherto unknown in three-dimensional ancient art. Complementary to this conclusion is a detailed ekphrasis in Apuleius’s Metamorphosis where the author describes a specific group in marble depicting Diana and Actaeon that neatly fits the characteristics of the statue treated here. On this basis, the interdependence of literary and rich two-dimensional pictorial sources of the myth in question are discussed. Another main aspect treated here is the way in which the observer’s attention is drawn to the artwork by combining natural elements and artificially worked materials, as well as citing different statuary types and styles. This consequently leads to a comparison with similar Hellenistic and Roman statuary groups that employ a broad range of different visual tactics in order to enhance the effect on the beholder. Although the original context of this unique statue is totally unknown, it surely belonged to the luxurious furnishings of a Roman – maybe imperial – villa of the region.

AB - This article examines a Roman sculpture excavated in 2008 by the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici del Lazio on the shore of Lake Albano near Castel Gandolfo, found within a Roman cistern that came to light during illegal construction work on private property. The sculpture depicts a human male clad in stag’s fur, which leads to the conclusion that it is the mythic hunter Actaeon. On the grounds of formal and iconographic observations, it is argued that the figure must have been part of a more extensive sculptural group representing a certain moment in the myth of Diana and Actaeon, hitherto unknown in three-dimensional ancient art. Complementary to this conclusion is a detailed ekphrasis in Apuleius’s Metamorphosis where the author describes a specific group in marble depicting Diana and Actaeon that neatly fits the characteristics of the statue treated here. On this basis, the interdependence of literary and rich two-dimensional pictorial sources of the myth in question are discussed. Another main aspect treated here is the way in which the observer’s attention is drawn to the artwork by combining natural elements and artificially worked materials, as well as citing different statuary types and styles. This consequently leads to a comparison with similar Hellenistic and Roman statuary groups that employ a broad range of different visual tactics in order to enhance the effect on the beholder. Although the original context of this unique statue is totally unknown, it surely belonged to the luxurious furnishings of a Roman – maybe imperial – villa of the region.

M3 - Journal article

VL - 13.2013

SP - 51

EP - 70

JO - Siris. Studi e ricerche della scuola di specializzazione in beni archeologici di Matera

JF - Siris. Studi e ricerche della scuola di specializzazione in beni archeologici di Matera

SN - 1824-8659

ER -