Over Life-Sized Roman Marble Togatus Figure

Origin: Mediterranean
Circa: Imperial Period, 1st Century AD to 3rd Century AD
Dimensions: 72" Height x 25" Width x (182.9 cm x 63.5 cm)
Medium: Marble

An exemplary, larger-than-life statue of a figure donning a voluminous toga draped across the body with cascading folds, skillfully hand-carved from white marble. The togatus figure stands contrapposto with his right leg slightly bent at the knee and his left arm at his side while grasping a cluster of drapery folds. His right arm bends at the elbow, positioning his hand near the cowl of his garment. A cylindrical leather box for scrolls is shown behind his left foot, identifying him as a man engaged in public business. His contrapposto pose creates a weight shift that resembles the natural and organic movement of the human body. The Greeks invented this pose in the 5th century BC as an alternative to the more static stances of earlier eras. By the 4th century BC, Praxiteles and others mastered this expressive pose, and the Romans of course admired this ability to capture the human figure in a veristic fashion.