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Wrestlers

Wrestlers is the modern name for a Hellenistic Greek sculpture, probably originally in bronze, known through a Roman marble copy preserved in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. The group depicts a sporting combat in the pancratium: one fighter has pinned his opponent, gripping his right arm, while the loser kneels, nearly fallen, with his back sharply bent and one hand braced on the ground. The musculature is strongly exaggerated to emphasize physical effort. The original heads were lost and replaced after discovery; the head of the defeated figure is earlier and stylistically more advanced, while the victor’s head is modern. The work was once highly esteemed and is now usually assigned to the Pergamene school or the circle of Lysippus.

White marble Wrestlers sculpture showing two nude male figures in a wrestling match, one pinning the other to the ground.
The Wrestlers, a white marble sculpture of two nude men locked in a wrestling match.
March 2015 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
A sculpture of two nude male wrestlers locked in an athletic struggle, one pinning the other down.
Wrestlers, a sculpture of two nude male figures locked in combat.
© Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain
The Wrestlers marble sculpture showing two nude male figures in a wrestling pose on a dark base.
The Wrestlers, a marble sculpture of two nude male figures locked in combat, displayed on a dark base.
© · PDM-owner
Classical marble sculpture of two wrestlers locked in a struggle, one atop the other against a dark background.
A classical sculpture of wrestlers shown in a dramatic grappling pose.
1910 © · No restrictions
Two wrestlers in an ancient marble statue, one pinned on all fours beneath the other.
Wrestlers, shown here in a line drawing after an ancient marble statue.
1875 © Ernst Wallis et al · Public domain

Identification

TitleWrestlers
TypeRoman marble sculpture group
SubjectTwo nude young men engaged in pankration
Alternative titlesLuchadores; Pancraciasts; Pancrastinae; Les Lutteurs; The Two Wrestlers; Los luchadores; Uffizi Wrestlers; Wrestlers of the Uffizi

Historical context

Date of creation1st century CE
Original Greek model date3rd century BCE

Creator

ArtistUnknown Roman artist
Original attributionAttributed variously to Myron, Cephisodotus the Younger, Heliodorus, Lysippus, or the Pergamene school; modern scholarship also suggests Lysippus or his followers

Discovery and provenance

First owner after discoveryThe Varese family
Current displayOn display in the Tribune Hall
Current locationUffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy
Transfer to Florence1677
Later locationVilla Medici, Rome
Associated findFound together with the Niobids group
AcquisitionPurchased on 25 June 1583 by Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici through a member of the Varese family, for the Villa Medici collection
Documentation of discoveryThe discovery was well documented and caused a sensation in Rome
Early interpretationEarly antiquarians and engravers wrongly thought it belonged to the Niobids group as a single composition
Condition at discoveryThe sculpture was found without its heads
Discovery placeA vineyard of the Tommasini da Gallese family near Porta San Giovanni in Rome
Discovery dateLate March or early April 1583

Physical characteristics

Restored parts in FlorenceThe right arm of the upper figure was restored there
HeadsBoth heads were added after discovery; the lower head used an ancient fragment and the upper head was made by a restorer
Surface condition at discoveryCovered with a greasy patina that was removed
Copy statusRoman copy of a lost Greek bronze original
MaterialParian marble

Appearance

FiguresTwo muscular nude men in combat
PoseOne wrestler is mounted astride the other, pressing him down and twisting his arm while trying to hook his left leg around the opponent's left leg; the lower wrestler is kneeling, braced on one arm, with his other arm pulled back
Head positionsThe upper wrestler looks down at his opponent; the lower wrestler turns his face to the left
Anatomical treatmentThe anatomy and proportions are carefully worked out and strongly emphasized
StyleHighly realistic and dynamically composed
Facial expressionDespite the struggle, both figures have calm expressions
MoodAggressive combat contrasted with self-control
Viewer effectThe interlocking bodies create a striking visual effect and were noted for evoking admiration

Iconography and meaning

InterpretationSome researchers note erotic tension in the statue
Depicted sportPankration, an ancient Greek combat sport

Location and ownership

Ownership historyAfter discovery it passed from the Varese family to the Medici collection, and later to the Uffizi
Early display historyIt was a प्रमुख work in the Tribune of the Uffizi

History and restoration

PopularityIt was once very famous and widely copied
CopiesMany copies were made in marble, bronze, plaster, and modern resin; Philippe Magnier made a marble copy ca. 1684–1687 for Versailles, later moved to Marly and now in the Louvre
Historical reputationOnce considered one of the most important works of antiquity
Later critical receptionIts reputation later declined; Kenneth Clark described it as a work once famous and now unfairly neglected
Critical interpretationKenneth Clark suggested that the original was a Lysippic bronze of masterly complexity and condensation

Significance

Pliny referencePliny used the term symplegmata for closely intertwined figures in struggle and cited Cephisodotus the Younger and Heliodorus as makers of such works
Symplegmata meaningFigures closed in struggle, whether purely physical or amatory
Example cited by PlinyPan and Olympus in the Portico of Octavia

Other

Identification noteNot to be confused with Pugilist at Rest or Wrestler (Olmec sculpture)
Image files mentionedUffizi_wrestlers.jpg; Uffizi_wrestlers-2.jpg; Uffizi_wrestlers-3.jpg