19th-century Italian School - Faun Playing the Flute

19th-century Italian School Faun Playing the Flute Carrara marble, height 57.5 cm The young satyr is depicted in the act of playing the flute, as evidenced by the shape of his lips. The figure, erect, with its weight placed on the right leg, is unbalanced on the left by the strong inclination of the opposite hip and rests on a trunk to its left. The body is only partially covered by animal skin which, knotted on the right shoulder, crosses the chest diagonally and rests on the trunk. The legs are crossed, the left is straight while the right is bent and crossed over the other. The hair is composed of thick, disheveled curls. Two small horns are visible on the forehead, blending with the hair. The figure of the satyr is presented with a gentle appearance, lacking the goat-like characteristics that distinguish it in much ancient iconography. Even the small horns are barely hinted at and covered by the disheveled hair. The model of the statue certainly coincides with the Faun Playing the Flute in the Borghese Gallery in Rome: the marble statue is, in all probability, a Roman replica of a Hellenistic original: the influences, both iconographic and technical, are clear in the production of the great sculptors of the 4th century, Praxiteles (Pliny the Elder in his writings refers to a sculpture of a satyr playing the flute by Praxiteles himself) and Lysippos. The relaxed attitude of the figure and the use of a supporting pillar would suggest a Praxitelean inspiration, while the three-dimensionality emphasized by the crossing of the arms on the bust, which expresses a overcoming of classical weight, suggests the hand of Lysippian workers. In line with Hellenistic aesthetics is also the method of representation of the faun: the theme, already present in art in previous eras, has undergone an evolution that has progressively seen the gentrification of the figure of the satyr. The work in question is a 19th-century variant of the ancient masterpiece: the anonymous Italian artist of the 19th century pedantically reproduces the forms of the Hellenistic masterpiece. The sinuous figure of the young faun is rendered with extreme skill by the master sculptor, who takes up the glorious and celebrated models of the ancient world to respond to the requests of the numerous aristocrats who, in the 19th century, included Rome among the privileged stages of their Grand Tours.