Apollo Sauroctonus at The Louvre, Paris

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The Apollo Sauroctonus (Lizard Slayer), dating from about 350-340 BC, was one of the finest works by the renowned Athenian sculptor Praxiteles. With its innovative subject and bold style, it remains a testament to the artist's mastery of classical tradition. The adolescent Apollo is depicted as he prepares to catch a lizard scaling up a tree trunk, showcasing his purifying virtues in a scene reminiscent of his later struggle with the serpent Python. This exquisite marble statue was acquired by the Louvre shortly after 1807, when Napoleon I purchased the collection of Prince Camillo Borghese. It is widely regarded as the finest Roman copy of the Apollo Sauroctonus ("lizard slayer" in Greek), a bronze work attributed to Praxiteles by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History (34.69-70). The original, now lost, is believed to have dated from the middle of the 4th century BC. Apollo is depicted as a youth, fully absorbed in his playful pursuit, hunting a lizard with an air of nonchalance. The unusual subject matter was likely a key factor in making the Sauroctonus such a popular choice for sculptors to copy during the Imperial era. A large number of Roman copies of the group have been recorded, including this one. Even small-scale models were produced, as evident from a witty epigram by the Roman poet Martial (14, 172). Various theories have been proposed to explain Apollo's actions, many focusing on the religious allusion that the seemingly motiveless scene would have conveyed originally. The work is thought to reference the purifying virtues of Apollo, who defeated evil creatures and destroyed scourges. It may also be a foreshadowing of his struggle against the serpent Python in Delphi. Apollo's purifying or curative powers are mentioned in other epithets associated with the god: Apollo Smintheus, the rat slayer, and Apollo Parnopios, the locust slayer. Praxiteles (fl. 375-335 BC) is best known for his Aphrodite of Cnidos, the first great female nude in Greek sculpture. However, all of his works, including the Apollo Sauroctonus, are strikingly bold in style, departing from the classical tradition of the fifth century BC. The subject allowed Praxiteles to develop one of his favorite themes: a young male nude with a slender, almost feminine body and sharply defined hips. He takes contrapposto, developed by Polykleitos a century previously, a step further, positioning the body off-balance so that it requires support. The tree trunk thus plays a dual role, as a realistic, picturesque detail that evokes the stage on which the action takes place, and as a support for the figure.