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Bronze statuette of a youth dancing

late 4th century BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 163
This beautiful bronze captures a moment when the full achievement of Classical art began to be used for the representation of a single, transitory state. The youth is nude except for a crown of myrtle, an attribute of followers of the god Dionysos. His pose no longer dictates one primary view, for his torso and legs assume a true contrapposto, and his downward glance reinforced by the direction of the arms makes a rather tight spiral of the whole composition. There is a perfect congruence among all parts of the figure, but the shifts in direction evident from every angle maintain an effect of instability and impermanence.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Bronze statuette of a youth dancing
  • Period: Hellenistic
  • Date: late 4th century BCE
  • Culture: Greek
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Dimensions: 7 7/8 × 3 7/16 × 2 3/16 in., 2.5 lb. (20 × 8.7 × 5.6 cm, 1133.993g)
  • Classification: Bronzes
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Walter C. Baker, 1971
  • Object Number: 1972.118.94
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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