Exhibit Watch: Power and Pathos in Sculpture

Weary from a fight and slumped on a seat, a seasoned boxer cast in bronze offers onlookers a portrait in contrasts: Cuts and bruises blemish his face, his nose is fractured and his hunched posture suggests both physical and mental exhaustion, and yet his brawny physique and unruffled hair and beard show him to be a Classically conceived, idealized athlete—albeit one mature in age. He looks up sharply to his right—someone across the way has his attention.

This rare fully preserved bronze statue is one of about 50 sculptures featured in Power and Pathos: Bronze Sculpture of the Hellenistic World, a new exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Showcasing bronze statues from the Hellenistic-period (fourth–first centuries B.C.E.) Mediterranean region, Power and Pathos is an unprecedented international exhibition organized with the cooperation of major archaeological museums in 10 countries, including Greece, Italy, Spain and the United States. Before traveling to the National Gallery of Art, the exhibition was featured at the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, Italy, and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California.