The Youth of Agde
Encyclopedia
The Youth of Agde is a bronze statue discovered on September 13, 1964, on the bed of the river Herault
on the south-eastern coast of France
, by Denis Fanquerle and diver
s from the Agde Marine Archaeological Research Group. It is probably associated with an ancient Greek shipwreck
.
Standing at a height of 1.33 meters, this bronze statue is dated to the 2nd century BC (late Hellenistic period
), and depicts a young man, probably a ruler. His features resemble those of Lysippos
' Doryphoros
, suggesting that its creator was a student of the master sculptor.
The statue itself is in poor condition due to its immersion in the Herault Estuary for so many years. The surface of the bronze is corroded, and the lower half of both arms and both feet are missing. One foot was found six months after the initial discovery, about 600 meters away from the original find, buried under 1.5 meters of silt
deposits on the bed of the river. The rest of the parts have yet to be located.
The Youth of Agde, for the first fifteen years of its second life on land, resided in the storage rooms of the Louvre
. It is now on display at the Agde
Museum
Hérault
Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
on the south-eastern coast of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, by Denis Fanquerle and diver
Diver
Diver or divers can refer to:*Diving, the sport of performing acrobatics while jumping or falling into water**:Category:Divers*Underwater diving**:Category:Underwater divers**Scuba diving, in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater...
s from the Agde Marine Archaeological Research Group. It is probably associated with an ancient Greek shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
.
Standing at a height of 1.33 meters, this bronze statue is dated to the 2nd century BC (late Hellenistic period
Hellenistic period
The Hellenistic period or Hellenistic era describes the time which followed the conquests of Alexander the Great. It was so named by the historian J. G. Droysen. During this time, Greek cultural influence and power was at its zenith in Europe and Asia...
), and depicts a young man, probably a ruler. His features resemble those of Lysippos
Lysippos
Lysippos was a Greek sculptor of the 4th century BC. Together with Scopas and Praxiteles, he is considered one of the three greatest sculptors of the Classical Greek era, bringing transition into the Hellenistic period. Problems confront the study of Lysippos because of the difficulty of...
' Doryphoros
Doryphoros
The Doryphoros is one of the best known Greek sculptures of the classical era in Western Art and an early example of Greek classical contrapposto...
, suggesting that its creator was a student of the master sculptor.
The statue itself is in poor condition due to its immersion in the Herault Estuary for so many years. The surface of the bronze is corroded, and the lower half of both arms and both feet are missing. One foot was found six months after the initial discovery, about 600 meters away from the original find, buried under 1.5 meters of silt
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
deposits on the bed of the river. The rest of the parts have yet to be located.
The Youth of Agde, for the first fifteen years of its second life on land, resided in the storage rooms of the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
. It is now on display at the Agde
Agde
Agde is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. It is the Mediterranean port of the Canal du Midi.-Location:Agde is located on the river Hérault, 4 km from the Mediterranean Sea, and 750 km from Paris...
Museum