Roman Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York -- STEFANO (Gift of Jan Mitchell, 1962) -- VILLA ALBANI -- Atleta Albani, Roma.

Speranza

Marble statue of the so-called Stephanos Youth
Period: Early Imperial
Date: late 1st century B.C. or 1st century A.D.
Culture: Roman
Medium: Marble
Dimensions:
H.: 109.9 cm
Classification: Stone Sculpture
Credit Line: Gift of Jan and Ellin Mitchell, 1962
Accession Number: 62.4
This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 162

This figure of the athlete is one of the best-known examples of the type of sculpture acquired by the Roman upper classes, who sought to decorate their private villas in a way that evoked the sophistication and culture of the recently subdued Hellenistic kingdoms of the eastern Mediterranean.

Greek sculptors in Roma itself could provide more or less exact replicas of well-known statues from the past as well as new creations that imitated or combined various styles.

The Stephanos statue is such a combination.

The extremely broad shoulders and the stance bring to mind male statues of the second quarter of the fifth century B.C., while the small head and long legs derive from works created in the mid-fourth century B.C. by Lisippo.

The soft modeling of the flesh is found in the statues of Prassitele, as well as in Hellenistic sculpture of the third and second centuries B.C.

A new creation resulted from these learned, eclectic combinations.

The Stefano must have been very popular, for over seventeen ancient copies are known today.

It was apparently typical of the statuary available in the Roman workshop of the Greek sculptor Pasitele, during the mid-first century B/C.

A number of Roman writers commented on Pasitele, and we have a rare sculptor’s signature by Stefano, Pasitele's pupil, on the most complete example of this work, which is now in the Villa Albani, Rome.

Copy of a marble statue of the mid-1st century B.C. signed by Stefano, pupil of Pasitele.