A little bit of history
Date:
Location: Galleria Uffizi, Florence, Italy
The statues portray a scene from Greek
mythology. Niobe was a queen who had fourteen children and unable to keep her
mouth shut about it, she went around bragging about her large offspring. Her
mistake was to do this in front of the goddess Leto who had only two children.
Leto was insulted by Niobe’s pride and asked her children to revenge her. To
Niobe’s misfortune, Leto’s children – Artemis and Apolo - were archers. Due to Niobe’s hubris, all her children were killed.
A little bit of technique
The sculptures are Roman copies of Greek
originals from the III or II centuries B. C. The style is neo-classic and
according to the Wikipedia they are considered “one of the most prominent
surviving sculptures of the Classical Antiquity.”
A little bit of enthusiasm
When you enter the Niobe room, you glance at
what’s inside and expect to see Classical statues in grandiose poses. But when
you look carefully you notice something strange: the statues are raising their
arms, looking up, trying to protect themselves. They seem terrified of what’s
coming from above.
They are so realistic that we end up terrorized too. I
almost felt like falling down and looking for cover as well. I don’t care that
the statues are copies, they are incredibly powerful (and so were the gods!).
I strongly recommend taking the virtual tour of
the Niobe room, it’s amazing.
Do you think the sculptures are effective in telling this story? Are you interested in Greek mythology?
