Myron

 

Picking up interesting old facts is one of the reasons I love art history. Presently I’m reading a book “The Art Lover” by Andromeda Romano Lax (can’t say I’d recommend it however) and it encouraged me to learn more about Myron’s sculpture of the perfect male form. The book chronicles the purchase and delivery of the Lancellotti version to Germany in 1938. I had no inkling that this had occurred and I think there is probably a lot of artistic license happening in the novel. But still I have been compelled to read and watch more about the classic discus thrower.

This Ancient Greek sculpture was originally a bronze made in around 450 BCE and has since been lost (this is intriguing in itself). But many Roman copies have since shown up in the backyards of various families. The Lancellotti version was discovered in 1781 and when the family found themselves in dire financial straits they offered it for sale. And Hitler came up with the cash. Of course it was the perfect form of the “master race”, muscular, stoic and most importantly white.

The sculpture was eventually returned to Italy in 1948 where it now resides at the National Roman Museum.

 

Below is a still from the groundbreaking doco by Leni Reifenstahl where Myron’s Discobolus gradually transforms into a human Olympian. This documentary was made in 1936 to celebrate the Berlin Games. Worth a watch if you have the time.