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Moschophoros (Greek: μοσχοφόρος "calf-bearer") is an ancient Greek statue commonly known as The Calf Bearer. It was founded in fragments in the Perserschutt in the Acropolis of Athens. The statue, dated c. 560 BC and estimated to have originally measured 1.65 meters (5.4 ft) in height, is currently housed in the Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece.

Condition

The condition the Moschophoros is fragmentary. The legs are lacking below knees. Hands, front of left thigh and genitals have been chipped away from the structure. The chin is broken off. The foot with a plinth and inscribed base certainly belong together. The sculpture's inlaid eyes are missing. Otherwise, it is an excellent preservation of surface.

History

The torso was found on the Athenian Acropolis in 1864. The base made of poros limestone was found in 1887. It had a plinth with the right foot of the statue attached to it (Acropolis Museum, Athens, Inv. No. 624). From the inscription on the rectangular plinth, we learn that the statue was dedicated by one Rhombos, Bombos or Kombos (the beginning of the name is missing) to Athena. There is no doubt that this was a distinguished and well-to-do-citizen of Attica who offered his own likeness to the goddess. He is approaching Athena carrying a little calf, his sacrificial offering, on his shoulders.

Relevance

The Moschophoros stands in the left-foot-forward manner of the kouroi. He has a beard and and therefore no longer a youth. He wears a thin cloak (once painted to set it off from the otherwise nude body). The sculpture adhered to the artistic convention of male nudity and attributed to the calf bearer the noble perfection that nudity suggests, while also indicating that this mature gentleman is clothed, as any respectable citizen would be in this context.

Form

The Archaic sculpture's composition may be seen in the handling of the difficult problem of representing man and animal together. The calf's legs and the Moschophoros's arms form a bold X that unites the two bodies both physically and formally. The calf bearer's face differs markedly from earlier Greek statues (and those from Egypt and the Near East) in a notable way. The man seems to smile. From this time on, Archaic Greek statues smile.

Style

His curls are shaped like corals or pearls encircling his forehead and, starting from behind either ear, three plaits fall to his breast. The hair, the surface of which has been left rough at the top of the head to make the color adhere, is tied with a narrow ribbon. A pointed beard encircles his face, curving around his shaved upper and lower lip. The narrow, curving mouth is firmly outlined. The large, deep-set eyes were made out of colored stones, now missing, to render the glance more lively. Man and beast, the donor and his gift, are closely integrated by the pattern formed by the man's arms raised to hold the feet of the calf slung over his shoulders. His hands gripping the hooves form a fitting decorative center-piece for it. There are remains of blue paint on the skin of the calf.

By its clear and concise form, this sculptured group is typical in its composition of the early 6th century B.C., achieving a rare and pleasing unity. An Attic sculptor, no other work by whom is so far known, carved it about 570 B.C.

Interpretation

The man and animal are expressly bound as a group. The composition scheme of the crossed legs and arms as well as more subtle links such as the inclined heads create an extremely unified work. The forms are simple and often schematic: the face round, the eyes, brows and mouth created with simple arcs, the navel button-like, the mantle indicated by lines and points, the beard merely a raised surface presumably delineated in paint. However, the body structure is well developed, and there is a tremendous interest and accomplished virtuosity in rendering texture. The subtle modulation of musculature shows even through the cloth, not because it is thin but because it is soft. Similarly the genitals of the calf flatten against the shoulder of the man. His body shows a concomitant response to the calf with a tensing of the forearms as they balance the weight of the animal.

See also

• Acropolis of Athens
• Kriophoros — "ram-bearer".