Nude Torso of a Young Man

Roman art

This sculpture came from either Villa Mondragone or the Palazzo in Campo Marzio, both Borghese residences, and was among the works restored by Massimiliano Laboureur in 1819. It was reported in its current location in the Portico by Nibby in 1832. The lean torso would seem to be in the vein of figures of athletes and the Diadumenos in particular. It probably portrayed a nude figure that put its weight on its right leg, judging from the slight inclination of the body in that direction.  Based solely on stylistic analysis, the sculpture would seem to be a replica of Polykleitan models from the fourth century BCE and is datable to the first century CE.

Object details

Commentary

This torso portrays a nude male figure with a lean, solid physique and a well-defined linea alba. The inclination of the neck and torso to the right suggests that it was originally a standing figure with its weight on the right leg. Both arms are raised, the left one pointed upward, and the right one held out to the side. In 1819, it was documented as one of the works moved from the Villa Mondragone and the Palazzo in Campo Marzio to the Villa Pinciana and restored by Massimiliano Laboureur. His aim for this piece seems to have been to return the heavily reworked sculpture to its fragmentary state: ‘Unknown, life-size figure of a young man, of which only the ancient torso will be preserved, removing the modern restoration with a saw below the hips, said torso will be placed on a simple four-sided base four once thick” (Moreno, Sforzini 1987, p. 347). Nibby, who reported it in its current location, held it to be, ‘based on style and the particular leanness of the body … part of a Roman statue, perhaps a seated emperor, which would have held the globe or the Victory in his right hand and the rod in his left’ (1832, p. 17).

The fragmentary nature of the surviving portion it impossible to securely identify the subject, but the absence of hair on the shoulders and the tense pose suggest a link to figures of athletes and in particular that of Diadumenos. The torso can be fruitfully compared to a similar sculpture in the Louvre, the musculature of which is, however, more developed (inv. Ma 1027.2: Pasquier, Martinez 2007, pp. 112–113).

Analysis of stylistic features such as the well-defined anatomy and the realistic muscle tension, modelled on Polykleitan works from the fourth century BCE, suggest a date for the sculpture in the first century CE.

Giulia Ciccarello