Hellas is the cradle of Western and Eastern European culture, science, philosophy, and plastic arts. An example of the latter is the statue of Hermes with the Baby Dionysus.
The myth of the birth of Hermes
God Zeus had a stormy personal life. Hera's wife was madly jealous of him. When she found out about her husband's next love adventure, she decided to take revenge on his beloved Semele, who was expecting a child from Zeus. She persuaded Semela to ask that Zeus fulfill her request, swearing an unbreakable oath, and appear to her in all greatness. With horror, he fulfilled the request of his beloved. From his lightning and brilliance, the palace flared up, and at Semela premature birth began. Hera was angry when she found out that at the request of Zeus Hermes with the baby Dionysus went to Semela's sister, whose name was Ino, so that the child would grow up.
Perhaps this moment of myth was depicted by a Greek sculptor. Further, Hera deprived the mind of Ino's husband. He decided to kill his family and managed to end one of the children. Ino, fleeing from a madman, threw herself with another son into the waters of the sea. They became sea deities. Meanwhile, the savior of the young god reappeared . Hermes with the baby Dionysus instantly moved to the Nisei Valley to the nymphs. Or perhaps this episode of myth was sculpted by Praxiteles. Dionysus grew up and became the god of winemaking, violent orgies and the ruler of goat-footed satyrs and nymphs. His attributes were a wreath of ivy and a rod-tiers.
Praxitel
From the sculptor of the fourth century BC. e. Praxiteles has survived to our time a little work. One that is allegedly attributed to him is Hermes with the Baby Dionysus. The fact that it was the Praxiteles carved that we know from the work of the ancient Greek writer Pausanias. Some art historians doubt that the author of the sculpture was Praxiteles. “Hermes with the Baby Dionysus” was performed in a technique that was not typical of the classics. The sculptor lived so long that it is difficult to recreate an accurate biography. It is known that he lived in Athens. He was raised by the sculptor father Kefisodot. Father’s workshop was visited by philosophers, artists, poets.
Praxiteles grew up in an atmosphere of high creative debate about art. It is also known that he loved the beautiful Frina. In youth, Praxitel repeatedly creates captivating female images. The best, according to enthusiastic descriptions, is Aphrodite of Cnidus. Pilgrims came to the city of Knidos to enjoy the perfect work. The original has not been preserved. There are only a few copies by which one can judge how gentle, feminine and charming this image created by inspired love was.
At the age of maturity, in 334, Praxiteles performed the sculptural work “Hermes with the Baby Dionysus”. We will talk about it below. After himself, the sculptor left the school of masters, his admirers, who, unfortunately, could not reach such heights in the art of creating life-like and beautiful images.
Excavations of German archaeologists
In 1874, the Greek state signed an archaeological research treaty with Germany. In their course on May 8, 1887, a sculpture was discovered, covered with a thick layer of clay. She was called Hermes with the Baby Dionysus. She was found in the ruins of the temple of Hera in the town of Olympia, which was previously a simple settlement in the Peloponnese, where the Olympic Games arose and were held.
Find Ernst Curtius
The honor of this find belongs to E. Curtius. In a two-meter sculpture of a young man standing, leaning against a tree covered with a cloak, his head, body, legs and partially arms were well preserved. Hermes, as today, lacked his right forearm and left arm. Dionysus has no left arm and right leg.
Hermes’s face and body are striking with polishing, while traces of a chisel and a rasp are preserved from behind, which indicates the incompleteness of work. The sculptural group itself is made of the best Parosian marble. It stands on a gray limestone base surrounded by two blocks of marble. The sculpture was hardly very famous, since not a single copy was found.
Hermes with the Baby Dionysus: Description
It seems that Praxitel’s round composition was intended for planar perception. He did not expect the viewer to go around her. The sculptor wanted to show a gentle and harmonious relationship. This static image is in a relaxed state. The support on which Hermes relies is intended for this. Her soft fabric sets off the radiant Dionysus. He is light and graceful. Everyone suggests that Hermes held a bunch of grapes in his hand, to which the baby reaches. They are connected not only by physical, but also by spiritual bonds: a sweet game, when Hermes contemplates the movement of a child. The look of God is full of tender care.
His face is beautiful and noble. A cap of hair with curls in which the light is fragmented leaves its perfect face open. And the whole look, elongated, is full of elegance. Harmonious ratio of the parts of the figures. If we consider the whole composition, then 1/3 (A) is the upper part, in which Hermes holds Dionysus, and the lower part goes from the waist to the end of the legs (B). The figure of God can be divided into unequal parts: 1/3 (C) - head, 2/3 (D) - his torso to the waist with a baby in her arms. The lower part of the composition also observes these proportions: 2/3 (E) occupies the torso and hips, and the last third (F) is the lower leg and feet. Such a division can be equated as follows: A of the upper general composition is equal to C + D in the figure of God, B = E + F. Without a drawing, this is a little difficult, but if you think about it, it speaks of nobility and harmony of proportions. The whole composition "Hermes with the Baby Dionysus" gives divine energy and love to the world.