The pain of the Dying Gaul

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The Roman original of the Dying Gaul, a copy of the Hellenistic original, is in the Capitoline Museum, Rome.

It started with an argument. My friend of mine insisted that Hellenic art was far superior to Hellenistic art. A teacher in the humanities, she was talking about classical Greek art produced when city states like Athens flourished. Of course, I had to admit the  Acropolis is beautifully proportioned...But overall, I had to say, "No," to her infatuation with classical Greek sculpture.  "Maybe the drawings on Greek vases are lovely," I added. "But nothing can compare to certain Hellenistic statues. At least not until the Renaissance produced Bernini. Just take a look at the Dying Gaul created in Hellenistic Greece, Alexander the Great's time."

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