By the third century B.C. Hellenistic sculpture
had acquired a lightness which caused Wilhelm Klein to compare
it to the rococo of the eighteenth century. The comparison was
of course prompted by the grace, the joy, the playfulness, the
intimacy of the style. The dancing of satyrs or fauns was a popular
subject although this faun seems to be making music for the dance.
With his right foot he beats time with a clapper called a kroupalon
while he waves his arm in the air, snapping out the rhythm with
castanets which were called krotala.
There is evidence that this sprightly fellow was originally part
of a group. A coin from Cyzicus pictures the faun playing for
a seated nymph who responds by looking up at him laughingly while
she puts a sandal on her left foot.
The marble original is to be seen in the room of The Tribuna
in the Uffize Gallery in Florence. The statue of the girl is
also in the Uffizi Gallery but the two statues are not displayed
together. |
