Fragmentary Imitation Kouros

20th century

Medium

Dolomitic marble

Dimensions

101 × 45 cm

Status

In Museum Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-250080

This statue is a modern work reassembled from several pieces: the legs and torso are joined as 90.AK.43; the head (here replicated in a cast, which is joined to the torso) is 92.AK.29. The nude male figure stands frontally with its left leg slightly advanced of the right. The arms are held at the sides with the hands and wrists attached to the upper thighs. The hair is styled with two rows of drilled curls on the forehead, separated by a fillet from the rest of hair, which is arranged in beaded rows falling down the neck to the upper back. The brownish color of the fake torso is the result of an attempt to make the surface look ancient by coating it with iron oxide, a technique easily reproduced in a laboratory. The head does not have this brownish color, since it was apparently removed before this treatment. Acquired by the Museum for research, this modern torso and head share some stylistic similarities with the Getty kouros. These include the sloping shoulders and rounded upper arms, the full chest, the pattern of the abdominal muscles, and the abstract details of the hands. These features, and the fact that, like the Getty Kouros, the piece is carved from dolomitic marble f…