Mask of the so-called Dying Alexander
- Title:
- Mask of the so-called Dying Alexander
- Collection:
- Cornell Cast Collection
- Creator:
- P.P. Caproni & Brother (reproduction)
Unknown (original)
- Photographer:
- Mericle, Danielle
- Date:
- ca. 1890-1900
2nd c. BCE
- Site:
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA (reproduction)
Unknown (acquired in Rome by Medici) (original) - Location:
- Goldwin Smith Hall (Room GM 01), Cornell University
Boston, Massachusetts, USA (reproduction)
Unknown (acquired in Rome by Medici) (original) - ID Number:
- CCC_0578
- Accession Number:
- 577
- File Name:
- CCC_0578.tif
- Culture:
- Greek
- Style/Period:
- Hellenistic (Pergamene influence)
- Work Type:
- casts (sculpture)
- Materials/Techniques:
- plaster cast (sculpture)
marble sculpture in the round (original) - Subject:
- Alexander the Great, 356 B.C.-323 B.C.
Greek Mythology - Image View Type:
- overall
- Image View Description:
- from front
- Measurement:
- 36.5 x 37.5 x 20.5 (centimeters, height x width x diameter)
- Description:
- This is a well-preserved partial cast of a marble head of a male in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence popularly called the Dying Alexander. Early on the work was identified as a representation of Alexander the Great on the brink of death, among other possible identifications, but is now "believed to be a fragment of some heroic narrative group," (Haskell and Penny, 135). The figure has deep-set, expressive eyes, a furrowed brow, a squared nose bridge, mane-like hair, full, parted lips, and a prominent chin. He looks up, tilting his head up and to his right, with an expression of fear or pain.This cast is a mask and includes only the face, surrounding hair, and upper neck of the original.
- Notes:
- Items in the Cornell Cast Collection are meant for inventory and reference purposes. Metadata may not be complete in all cases.
no. 338 - Bibliography:
- Francis Haskell and Nicholas Penny, Taste and the Antique: The Lure of Classical Sculpture 1500-1900 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981), 134-136
P.P. Caproni and brother, Catalogue of Plaster Reproductions from Antique, Medieval and Modern Sculpture (Boston, MA, 1911), 171 (no. 13536) - Repository:
- Cornell University (current)
Florenz, Galleria degli Uffizi (original) - Collecting Program:
- Cornell Collections of Antiquities
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- The images in the Cornell Collection of Antiquities: Casts are protected by copyright, and the copyright holders are their creators, generally Cornell University Library, Annetta Alexandridis, and Verity Platt. This collection of plaster casts owned by Cornell University was photographed by Cornell University Library, Alexandridis, Platt, and Andreya L. Mihaloew from 2010-2015, with funding from a Digital Collections in Arts and Sciences Grant to Annetta Alexandridis. Cornell is providing access to the materials for research and personal use. The written permission of any copyright and other rights holders is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use that extends beyond what is authorized by fair use and other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. Please contact Annetta Alexandridis and Verity Platt for more information about this collection, or to request permission to use these images.