| Artist | |
|---|---|
| Place of production | Rome, Michele Gherardi |
| Date | early 20th century (plaster cast), 1st century BC (original) |
| Object type | plaster cast |
| Medium, technique | plaster |
| Dimensions | 155 x 84 x 90 cm |
| Inventory number | Ag.266 |
| Collection | Classical Antiquites - Plaster casts |
| On view | Star Fortress (Komárom), Michelangelo and Graeco-Roman Sculpture, Gallery XVI |
This fragmentary marble statue depicts a male nude stooping forward. The identification of the markedly muscular figure has fascinated scholars since the 1400s when the statue was found. The man sits on a rock covered with the skin of a predator (perhaps a lion), many thus regard him as Heracles. Others think he is the archer Philoctetes, or, more probably, Aias, contemplating his death. The statue was acquired by the Vatican Museum in the early sixteenth century, and kept in the Belvedere, hence its name. It exerted an incredible influence on Renaissance art. Michelangelo regarded himself as a disciple of the Belvedere Torso.
Hekler, Antal, Az antik gipszgyűjtemény I-II., Budapest, 1919-1920, 1923, no. no. 362.
This record is subject to revision due to ongoing research.
