Couple of runners Villa dei Papiri. Italy, 19th century

Couple of runners Villa dei Papiri. Italy, 19th century.
Patinated bronze and marble.
Measurements: 30 x 26 x 13 cm.

The so-called runners of the Villa dei Papiri of Herculaneum are a set of bronze sculptures representing young athletes captured in full movement, and constitute one of the most refined examples of classical naturalism.

Figures of athletes became especially popular in the 19th century due to a confluence of several cultural, artistic and ideological factors. First, there was a renewed interest in classical antiquity, driven by neoclassicism. Greece and Rome were considered models of aesthetic and moral perfection, and the athlete's body-proportioned, strong and balanced-became an ideal to be imitated. Finally, towards the end of the century, the renaissance of modern sport (including the Olympic Games of 1896) further reinforced this iconography, consolidating the athlete as a contemporary symbol connecting the classical past and modernity.

This type of piece is part of the tradition of the Grand Tour, the formative journey that, during the 19th century, European aristocrats and scholars made through Italy.