This statue always blows my mind, every time I get to see it at the NYC Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Their website provides this information:
Marsyas by Balthasar Permoser (German, 1651–1732)
In one of the great parables of hubris, the satyr Marsyas challenged the god Apollo to a musical competition. The god triumphed and then punished his challenger by skinning him alive. The contorted face, with an open mouth revealing a bitten tongue, and twisting head immediately convey pain, while the taut shoulders suggest that his arms are bound behind his back. The satyr is draped with an animal pelt, pointing to his gruesome fate. What looks like drapery is, in fact, the skin from the breast.
I knew it was a satyr. Did not know the story behind it. Thanks for that. The lighting is very good and an overall soft feel works gine here.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even know what a satyr was! 😂😂
DeleteYou captured it well -- great lighting and shadows. What a gruesome story!
ReplyDeleteIt's in one of the few places in the museum with decent light. Daylight comes in from overhead glass.
DeleteAlways be nice to Apollo then!
ReplyDelete😂😂
DeleteWOW!!!! That was dramatic!!! Thank you for the write up . Good shot!!
ReplyDeleteThanks. It's a depiction of sheer agony, but honestly it's refreshing to find such an item amongst a sea of stuffy depictions of rich, white aristocrats. The statue is simply arresting. I imagine the artist choosing to make something "off the wall" and find that intriguing.
DeleteI didn't know what a satyr was, thanks for the information.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully done👏
ReplyDeleteLooks a little angry nice capture
ReplyDelete