Relief of a Falling Warrior
2nd century
Medium
Marble
Dimensions
53.3 × 81 × 17.5 cm (21 × 31 15/16 × 6 7/8 in.)
Classification
sculpture
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
56166
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Around 435 BCE, the Greek sculptor Pheidias adorned the front of the shield at the side of his gold-and-ivory statue of Athena in the Parthenon with scenes of Greeks battling Amazons in the Trojan War. In Roman times, certain figures from this complex struggle were lifted out of their original context and enlarged to become decorative reliefs for the walls of a colonnade or courtyard. Here a wounded Greek warrior collapses to the ground after being struck a mortal blow from behind. The dying wa...
About the Artist
Ancient Roman
The artists attributed to "Ancient Roman" in museum collections represent the anonymous craftsmen who produced the vast output of sculpture, frescoes, mosaics, and reliefs defining Roman visual culture from the Republic (c. 509–27 BCE) to the late Empire (c. 395 CE). Individual identities remain elusive, as Roman makers were typically viewed as skilled tradesmen—often enslaved Greeks or provincial...