Art in the Greek World by the Northern Rose

Greek sculptures are some of the most well-known pieces of art in existence and the Yale University Art Gallery certainly has plenty. When visiting the museum one steps back in time and into the oldest part of the building. One of the most striking pieces is called "Dionysus with a Panther." This marble sculpture of Dionysus is marked to be from the Hellenistic or Early Roman period, It has been estimated that the sculpture was created between the years 150 B.C.E. to 100 C.E.. Who the author is we most likely will never know.
One of the first things that must be considered is the time that this statue comes from. Those who studied it dated it to either the Hellenistic or Early Roman period. It is notoriously hard to date a sculpture from this time; it is also hard to know exactly where it originated from. The Hellenistic era is when Greek culture started to spread again, after the death of Alexander the Great. “As we follow the later history of the area we shall note the flagging of the early nobility of impulse, the waning of the old serene and unquestioning reverence for the gods, and how, in the Hellenistic age, the executive tradition faltered from the old ideality of aim and dropped to more naturalistic lines of interest.” (Warrack, Greek Sculpture). We can see in this sculpture of Dionysus that he may not be an idealized version of a god, he is more human like. In fact, he holds many of the same attributes that statues of Alexander the Great would portray at this time.
After his death Alexander the Great began to become synonymous with great power. While searching through various compiling’s of statues of Dionysus I found what seemed to be a pattern. Before about 400 B.C.E., when the majority of art was still on vases, the god of wine is almost always depicted as an older man. After the Hellenistic age comes about, Dionysus starts being depicted as more youthful person, much in the style of Alexander the Great who passed in his twenties. 
Like all gods and goddesses, Dionysus is portrayed with a blank stare. This was always the case because emotions on gods could sometimes be seen as weakness, and Greek gods did not have weaknesses like humans did. This god of wine seems to be staring far into the distance, he does not engage with the viewer. One piece of the statue that is missing is the placement of his arms. The Gallery suspects that one of his hands would have held a goblet, possibly positioned as if he was about to take a drink.
Dionysus is shown wearing a cape that flows from over his shoulder, down his back, and than around and draped over his knee. His torso is bare down to his upper calf. This may be important in dating it at least to the Hellenistic era because of the fact that before this period there would have been no nudity (not before Aphrodite of Knidos). The cape itself appears to be very heavy: “The images of Dionysus and his world that Greek art puts at our disposal, however, are original witnesses of their time: the decorative sculpture of the buildings erected by the polis, the votive reliefs which, although privately commissioned, were very much part of public space, and the various decorated utensils.” (Isler-Kerényi, Dionysos in Classical Athens : An Understanding Through Images) The back of the statue seems rough, there is some detail in the drapery of the gods cloak, but not a whole lot. The rough lines and texture show the possibility of an unfinished piece or an untrained hand. I suppose that it is also possible that this could have been a demo piece for a larger piece of work. The statue is rather small (81.5 x 41.4 x 27.5 cm), so it may be unfinished or rough because it was not intended to have those finishing touches.
Dionysus’s figure seems to be elongated. His torso appears to be out of proportion with his legs. He also seems to almost be too much taller than the panther seated besides him, the panther is almost depicted as if he is a modern-day dog. In fact, one might think that the figure was some breed of dog if it was not for the sharpened teeth carved in the panther’s mouth. Also, Dionysus is often depicted riding or near a panther, because he was a well-traveled god.
There is contrapposto in the statue. The main character, Dionysus, is leaning to his left and throwing all of his weight on his left leg and the column he is leaning against. The support column may also be a log of some sort; it has a grape vine with grape clusters wrapped around it. The crown that Dionysus is wearing is also made out of grape vines.  This is symbolism because Dionysus is the god of wine so this makes perfect sense. 
Dionysus had many different versions of his story told about him, but no matter the version it was always plain to see that his life was not an easy one. He was the god that discovered how to create wine and the personality changes that could come with its consumption were always a part of his story. 
The Gallery lists that the material used in this sculpture is marble. Marble is limestone that has more or less crystallized by metamorphism. It can range from granular to compact in texture and is capable of taking a high polish. Marble has been used plentifully in Greek architecture and sculpture. The idea that it is capable of taking a high polish is yet another good reason to question if this statue was really a finished project. The surface is rough, and you are still able to see a significant amount of chisel marks, this is especially true when looking at the cloak and the entire back of the statue. Marble is supposedly easy to identify and used often in art throughout history. 
This statue of Dionysus took my breath away. It is so artfully crafted, even if it does not appear to be finished. One final thing to point out is that the statue seems too small to be a steele, a Greek grave marker. Instead, it might have been located inside of a temple or within a private home. It also may have remained within the artists’ studio. No matter where this statue was located, it is an interesting piece of artwork. The craftsmanship lets you see the Greek god Dionysus in his human form, with his buddy the panther. Dionysus was always an interesting god to show, his rough upbringing can be shown within the attitude presented in this statue.

Written by the Northern Rose