Statue of a Youth

Artist: Stephanos of Rome
Date: First Century B.C.
Location: Waymon L. Hickman, Entryway

This statue of a young boy was found outside the Porta Salaria and is now in the Villa Albani in Rome. On the tree is the Greek inscription: "Stephanos pupil of Prasiteles made this." Stephanos' portrait statue of a young Roman boy comes at the end of generations of sculptors who studied the human body and gradually discovered new ways of representing man. Each discovery led them closer to depicting people as they really look. The young boy, here with his hair tied back by a thin cloth band, looks out at us over the ages with his serious, intelligent gaze. The shape and form of the body is not only anatomically correct but also convincing in an emotion and aesthetic sense.

The portrait statue of an idealized male figure can be traced back to the Egyptians, where young mal gods stand rigid with fists clinched at ends of stiff arms. It took at least 500 years to reach the point where Stephanos could sculpt the naturalistic boy before us.

Descriptive and historical information about the sculptures compiled by Dr. Douglas O. Eason.