Carlissa Shaw

Art History 2710-001

April 26, 2016

The Barberini Faun

The Barberini Faun is representative of the Hellenistic period of Greek sculpture

in his naturalism, especially in his

expression and gesture. Though the

obvious idealization in body type and

proportions give a reminder of earlier

sculptures including the Doryphoros.

Although the Barberini Faun

is described as being life size but as

he stands slightly over seven feet tall,

and is larger than life. The sculpture

is thought to be the original marble

Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic

period about 220 BCE. Portions of

the sculpture were restored with

newer material by Bernini in the 17th century. He was discovered in Rome in 1625 and

was collected by Pope Urban VIII of the Barberini family. The Barberini Faun is now

located at the Glyptothek in Munich Germany.

The Barberini Faun, also known as the Drunken Satyr, shows this creature

sleeping soundly out of drunkenness. He is seated upon a rock, conveniently very chair
shaped. He reclines on the back of the rock with the upper portion of his left arm resting

on top of the rock. The lower portion of his left arm is missing. He rests his face on his

right shoulder. His right arm reaches up and bends at the elbow so that his hand has

passed the back of his head. His face rests on his right shoulder with a mostly blank

expression. The Barberini sits with his right is propped up so that his foot is planted at

the end of the stone. His left leg reaches down towards the floor and from behind this leg

you can see his slight tale this is the most discernable way to tell that he is a satyr and not

a human. He sits upon a leopard skin folded under his right arm as a cushion from the

roughness of the rock.

When looking at the Barberini Faun your eye follows his gesture line from the

top of his head down to the bottom of his foot. The composition uses triangular shapes to

keep our eyes moving across the body. The top of the triangle being the face of the

Barberini down to his right knee and then over across his body to his left knee. The

triangular composition brings focus to the Barberinis face, chest, and groin. His face is

dreamy, his chest is overwhelmingly muscular, and his groin is erotically exposed. The

Barberini Faun is almost intimidating to view because of how beautiful he is and

realizing that the sculpture itself is massive.

The Barberinis lack of expression, which comes with his slumber, is a great

example of the Hellenistic period, where the figures are represented with truthful

expressions to their actions. In the classical period and before the figures are represented

with the archaic smile making all faces look pleasant. The Dying Warrior found at the

Temple of Aphaia from 470 BCE is an example of an art work that has the archaic smile

even though he is shown dying in agony. The Dying Gaul, also from the Hellenistic
period, shows sharp contrast from the

Dying Warrior. The Dying Gaul is not

represented in the pleasant fashion that

the Dying Warrior is shown.

The Barberini Faun is

represented with the idealized

proportions similar to the Doryphoros.

The idealized proportions are common through Greek sculpture, but the accentuated

musculature is more common in both the High Classical period and the Hellenistic

period. Before then idealized figures are shown with toned muscles, but they are shown

more exaggerated later on. The exaggerated athleticism of Hellenistic work is boldly

represented in the Seated Boxer and the Laocoon and His Sons. While the seated boxer

himself is an athlete and his

athletic build is shown, the

Laocoon is a more

pronounced example of the

musculature. The Laocoon is

shown struggling against the

snake, his whole body is being used to fight off the creature, and because of this we are

able to see the exaggeration of the athletes body.

Despite how human he looks the Barberini Faun is actually a satyr, so he is part

man and part animal. Due to their animalistic like characteristics satyrs are depicted in a

way that they are unable to control themselves, especially with wine. Satyrs are often
shown accompanying Dionysis, the God of Wine. Their inability to control their

consumption is evident in the Parthenon Metopes representing the battle of the Lapiths

and the Centaurs. The reliefs themselves represent the battle of the with the centaurs, a

type of satyr and the Lapiths. The story behind the battle was that the centaurs were

invited to a Lapith wedding, became too drunk and attempted to kidnap the Lapith

women. Because of their behaviors only

a subhuman would be represented being

passed out from drunkenness; a human

would never be represented in such a

state. The imagery itself is evidence that

the Barberini is not a man, but less than

one.

Although many nude Greek

works have been famed as being lifelike and seductive, including Venus of Milos, the

other nude works are shown as reserved. The Barberini Faun is far from reserved. He

sits with his legs wide open blatantly exposing his genitals. The over sexuality of the

Barberini may also come from the fact that he is a satyr because while they cannot

control themselves with their wine, they are said to also be incapable of controlling their

sexual urges. If the Barberini were not a satyr he would probably be represented as more

reserved, or he wouldnt be represented in this fashion at all.

The Barberini Faun beautifully represents the naturalism of the Hellenistic era

with his expression and gesture. Though his figure borrows from earlier periods focus on

the idealization and perfection. While he combines both Classical and Hellenistic eras
well, the Barberini Faun is an outlier in the Greek works studied. Our focus tends to lie

on Gods and even humans, who are represented in a typically heroic manner. He

challenges the ideas placed by other Grecian works, he is not represented respectfully or

heroically. The Barberini Faun represents taboo behaviors with his blatant sexuality and

state of drunkenness. Although satyrs are represented elsewhere in Greek art work, the

Barberini Faun is the most memorable. By creating something that is both larger than life

and also overwhelmingly beautiful we are thought to question the role of the subhumans

in Greek history.

Bibliography

Stokstad, Marilyn, and Michael Cotheren. Art History. 5th ed. Vol. 1. Pearson Education,
2014. Print.

Kleiner, Fred, and Christin Mamiya. Gardners Art Through the Ages. 12th edition.
Wadsworth, a divison of Thomson Learning Inc, 2005. Print
Dr. Harris, Beth, and Dr. Steven Zucker. Barberini Faun. Khan Acadamy, November 6th
2012 Video.