Though he is widely regarded as one of the great artists of history and was much admired and imitated, this individual's style and works, known largely through descriptions and the efforts of other artists, remain something of a mystery. On the other hand, just last year, a museum acquired what some have claimed could be the only extant original piece from his hand. Who was the artist, and what is the work?

lanfranco

I'm thinking about something that an American museum acquired last year. I might add that the question relates directly to #58551 and emphasize that the work in question may or not be the only extant piece by the artist. Other known works have been claimed to be his but are now widely thought to be copies. Jul 30 05, 12:56 PM

queproblema

The artist was Praxiteles, and the work Apollo Sauroktonos (Apollo the Lizard-Slayer). Here's a picture of the 150 cm-tall bronze statue at the Cleveland Museum of Art. http://www.clevelandart.org/collections/collection%20online.aspx?pid=%7B91ADCD8F-992A-45A5-8599-70835467DF5E%7D&coid=5620162&clabel=highlights After acquiring the piece in June of 2004, the museum had some trouble about its provenance--there are suggestions it was looted. The museum itself was closed during renovations, and Apollo was shown to the public again just this May. http://www.cleveland.com/apollo/plaindealer/index.ssf?/apollo/more/1094986500196300.html http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=38070 Here's what he may have originally looked like, if you can imagine an arrow in his right hand, aimed at the lizard: http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/ApolloSaur.htm Jun 04 10, 5:55 PM