Apollo Kitharista
Apollo Kitharista
Datelate 1st century BCE or early 1st century CE
Mediummarble
Dimensionsobject: 59 × 23 1/2 × 16 1/2 in. (149.9 × 59.7 × 41.9 cm)
object with base: 1400 lb. (635 kg)
ClassificationSCULPTURE
Credit LineSBMA, Gift of Wright S. Ludington
Object number1971.51.1
Subject(s)
- mythology
- music
- men
- deity
Collection
- Antiquity
Sub-Collection(s)
- Roman
On View
On viewCollections
Label TextApollo, the god of music, is shown with his clothing billowing in the wind. With great skill, the sculptor made the heavy marble appear light and transparent, showing the outlines of the god’s body as though it lies beneath the stone’s surface. Based on similar more complete sculptures in other museum collections, it is likely he would have originally held a stringed instrument known as a kithara in his left hand and a plectrum in his right. The kithara symbolizes Apollo’s close association with the Muses, and his patronage of the arts of music and poetry. This style of sculpture was first popular in the Greek world in the late fifth and early fourth centuries BC and was later imitated by the Romans.
