From Greek Original to Modern Pastiche: the Reformulation of the Classical Statue in Contemporary Art

Abstract

From the late 1960s onwards, Italian sculptors, especially those associated with the Arte Povera movement, have frequently made overt references to ancient art. Their work may be an exact replica of an antique statue, but more often the artist makes significant formal changes with regard to medium and provides the work with a different title. The present article discusses sculptures of Michelangelo Pistoletto, Giulio Paolini and Mario Ceroli, as well as some by the English sculptor Edward Allington, and touches upon the Danish artist Christian Lemmerz. When referring to earlier art, the contemporary artist often makes use of the multiple, in this way questioning the concept of the original and unique work of art. The Romans also made serial productions of Greek statues, ans sometimes it is difficult to tell whether an ancient statue is a so-called “Greek original” or a so-called “Roman copy”. In fact some sculptures, like the Laocoön, do not fit into either category. It is argued here that the Roman attitude towards originality is to a certain extent comparable to that of contemporary artists. But while the Roman artists stressed the cultural continuatio, the contemporary of classical images lay bare the distance between past and present.