24 Inches High x 14 Inches Wide x 10 Inches Deep This is a reduction model created and offered in a limited edition of 200 by sculptor Ndricim Bejko, who works for the Caproni Collection (formerly the Giust Gallery) and Skylight Studios, Inc. He created it with reference to an original full-size Caproni cast of Discobolus. The Greek sculptor Myron was famous for his athletes and animals. One such sculpture of Myron's that is considered one of the best of the Classical period is the life-size Discobolus, or Discus Thrower. The original bronze is lost, but many Roman copies exist, including the best copy which is in the Museo Nazionale Romano. The figure is renowned for its complexity of motion and form. Despite the thrower's apparent action, he is depicted at rest, shown in between the backswing and the forward swing. The calm face was a typical stylistic choice of the era; the Greeks preferred to illustrate themselves as collected and noble, even in battle scenes. This reduction is based on the copy in the British Museum collection, known as the Townley Discobolus. When the Townley Discobolus was discovered without a head in Tivoli near Rome in 1791, a nearby head was thought to belong to it. The restorer attached the head, now known to be incorrect, and also turned it so it faced the ground. Nevertheless, the restoration was well-received and also replicated. The copy in the Museo Nazionale Romano is also known as the Lancellotti Discobolus, named after the family that owned it for over a century after it was found on their property on the Esquiline Hill in 1781. The German government bought the sculpture in 1938, prompted by Hitler who thought it a perfect example of the Aryan race, and displayed it in the Glyptothek until 1948 when the sculpture returned to Italy. Artist: Myron, and head by unknown artist Museum: Museo Nazionale Romano and British Museum, London Time Period: Ancient Greek c. 455 B.C.E./Ancient Roman Sources: Collins, Neil. "Myron." Art Encyclopedia. Visual-arts-cork.com, 2019, http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/sculpture/myron.htm. "Gli imperdibili." Museo Nazionale Romano, slide 12, http://www.museonazionaleromano.beniculturali.it/it/176/gli-imperdibili. Harris, Beth, and Steven Zucker. "Myron, Discobolus (Discus Thrower), Roman copy of an ancient Greek bronze (video)." Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/greek-art/classical/v/myron-discobolus-discus-thrower-roman-copy-of-an-ancient-greek-bronze-from-c-450-b-c-e. Sooke, Alastair. "The Discobolus: Greeks, Nazis and the body beautiful." BBC, 24 March 2015, http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150324-hitlers-idea-of-the-perfect-body. "The Townley Discobolus." Museum number 1805,0703.43. The British Museum, https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=8760&partId=1.
