The Dying Gaul During The Hellenistic Period

The Hellenistic Period, spanning from Alexander the Great’s death in 323 BC, until the fall of the remains of his empire in 31 BC, which were conquered by the Romans. During this period, art, sculpture in particular, underwent a change in which new principles and values were applied to the created works. One sculpture that manifests the artistic values of the Hellenistic Period is the Dying Gaul. Firstly, Hellenistic art differed from the art of previous Greek periods on the grounds that expressing dramatic, violent, and emotional subjects was emphasized. In the Archaic Period, from 600 to 480 BC, sculptors worked to master up-righted realistic figures, which were often solid and stiff. During the Classical Period, which followed the Archaic,

For the Greeks, death in battle was one of the most honorable ways to die. It did not matter so much as to whether the deceased was a friend or foe, but rather that they gave their life in service of their country and their people. The Celtic Gauls were a fierce warrior people from northern Europe. In a series of campaigns, they were defeated by the Greeks in the third century BC. To commemorate the victory, the Dying Gaul was sculpted around 220 BC, and shows one such Gaul near death. Made of marble, the man is on the ground, with his right arm supporting his weight and his left arm pressing on his bleeding leg. He is slightly slumped over, and his head hangs down as if he does not have the strength to lift it up. Looking closer at the details on the face, it appears strained; the man is clearly in pain and shows concern over his wound. He isn’t crying out, though; he seems to be dying with dignity. In addition, there is a loneliness to the sculpture. Both the facial expression and position of the sculpture in free space suggest that the man is the last warrior left. All of these elements makes the viewer feel his pain and

While there is little movement in the work, the drop of the man’s head guides the viewer’s eyes to the wound on his leg. The way his body leans on his right arm also guides the viewer’s eyes to the right side of his body, in a way to place emphasis on the wound. Moreover, his body is proportionate, but lacks the precise harmony and balance of sculptures from the Archaic and Classical periods; this makes the Dying Gaul feel very realistic. Another characteristic that the artist abandoned was the idealistic face. His nose is a little big, he has thick eyebrows, and a mustache. These features are strikingly different from the young, athletic, and god-like ones from older Greek sculptures. The artist may have been trying to bring his sculpture “down to earth,” so to speak. Sculpted realistically, the viewers may have an easier time understanding his feelings than if he were sculpted