The Praying Boy
Last night, commenting a post on a newly made friend's blog, I mentioned the Pergamon Museum in Berlin which I had the opportunity to visit several years ago.
Among many antic beauties, I was totally stunned by this Praying Boy. Some believe it to represent Antinoüs, ephebe lover of emperor Hadrien. It was exhibited on a stele, and I can't remember for how long I looked up to its beauty, slowly walking around it.
It is now shown indoors, at Altes Museum - Berlin.
The so-called “Praying Boy” is one of the most famous bronze statues of antiquity.
It was created around 300 BC in the artistic tradition of the Greek sculptor Lysippus.
Discovered on the island of Rhodes, the “Praying Boy” was first brought to Venice and then became the property of the finance minister of King Louis XIV.
In 1747, the bronze statue was purchased by Friedrich II and displayed in Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam.
In 1807, Napoleon brought the “Praying Boy” to Paris, from where the statue came to the newly opened Altes Museum in 1830.
This is where the “Praying Boy” now stands once again in the visual axis of the rotunda, just as it did back then.
[credits: commons.wikimedia.org + Hellenic Glory on Facebook]
