The Greek and Roman sculptures in the Glyptothek in München are of exceptionally high quality with top highlights including the Barberini Faun (Drunken Satyr), Ilioneus, and the almost complete Kouros of Tenea.
The Glyptothek in Munich has one of the highest-quality collections of sculptures from antiquity in the world. Many of the best Greek and Roman sculptures that came to the art market during the early 19th century were snapped up to create an Athens on the Isar in Munich, Bavaria. Some of the most famous works in the museum include the Barberini Faun (Drunken Satyr), Ilieoneus, the Kouros of Tenea, and Apollo Barberini.
Top Quality Sculptures from Antiquity in the Glyptothek
The sculptures on display in the Glyptothek in Munich are of very high quality making it hard to pick the best highlights. Most of the collection was acquired in the early 19th century for Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I of Bavaria). He preferred quality over quantity leaving an antiquities collection where every item on display has the potential to be a highlight.
Below are descriptions and photos of most of the most acclaimed works on display as well as a few personal favorites:
Barberini Faun in the Glyptothek in Munich
The Barberini Faun (Barberinischer Faun), also Sleeping Satyr or Drunken Satyr, is the best-known sculpture in the Glyptothek in Munich and probably the most famous Greek statue in Germany. This marble sculpture of a drunken Satyr dates from around 220 BC and is a Greek original rather than a later Roman copy.
From a distance, and even fairly close up, this sculpture looks like a young man lying back with his legs wide open and genitals exposed. Only a small horsetail reveals it is a satyr and not a human making it quite OK in antiquity art to have your sexual organs on display.
Satyrs (or fauns in Roman versions) were human-like spirits with animal features such as a tails, hooves, hairy legs, pointy ears, horns, large genitalia, and often oddly shaped penises. In this version, the sculptor used mostly human features, even hiding the ears behind hair and the arm of the sleeping or drunken satyr. They were associated with Dionysus and thus seen as lusty party animals not bound by the sexual norms and composure of polite society.
In modern history, the sculpture was rediscovered in the 1620s in Rome and acquired by Cardinal Francesco Barberini. It was sold to Ludwig despite public opposition in Italy, including protests by Antonio Canova, and became one of the main attractions in the Glyptothek that opened in 1830.
The Medusa Rondanini displayed in the same room as the Drunken Satyr is the best surviving Roman marble copy of the Medusa intended for the center of the bronze shield of an 11-m tall Athena in the Parthenon on the Acropolis. It hangs at the same height that the original would have faced visitors.
(More people have probably seen the good marble copy of the Barberini Faun (now in the Louvre), which was made in 1726 by Edmé Bouchardon.
Ilioneus — Niobe’s Youngest Son
Maybe somewhat surprising to the modern visitor, the marble sculpture of Ilioneus was considered the true gem of the Glyptothek for much of the 19th century. It was also the most expensive sculpture bought by Ludwig — it cost 50% more than the Barberini Faun.
This marble of a naked youth kneeling is considered a Greek original from around 300 BC — his head and arms are missing. It shows Ilioneus, the youngest of Niobe’s seven sons (according to Ovid), just before he is killed by the arrows of Apollo and Artemis.
The sculpture had an interesting provenance and history. In the early 15th century it belonged to Lorenzo Ghiberti, who used Ilioneus as the model for Isaac about to be sacrificed on the bronze doors made for the baptistery of Florence Cathedral. It later belonged to the Habsburgers in Vienna before being sold to a stonemason in Prague, who later sold it to Joseph Barth, a Viennese ophthalmologist, for three guilders. Barth sold it during the Congress of Vienna in 1814 to Ludwig for the princely sum of 30,000 guilders.
The Niobids featured frequently in art through the centuries — a large sarcophagus in the last room in the museum shows all 14 children being slaughtered — twice! The most famous marble sculpture is probably the Dying Niobid — a female nude now on display in the Palazzo Massimo in Rome.
Kouroi Sculptures in the Glyptothek
The Glyptothek has a small selection of sculptures from the Archaic Greek period (6th century BC) that include two of the finest kouroi ever found:
Kouros of Tenea
The Kouros of Tenea has been well studied as it is an early marble from a period when most Greek sculptures were still of baked clay. This marble naked youth dates from around 560 BC and was rediscovered in 1846. As it was found in a sacred site and a full nude, it was originally described as the Apollo of Tenea. However, more recent opinion has it as a funerary monument and a depiction of a deceased individual. It is wonderfully well preserved but for a missing right elbow.
Munich Kouros
The Munich Kouros is a generation younger — it was made around 530 BC in Attica near Athens. Although preserving the traditional left-foot forward stance, he is more muscular and more athletic than the Kouros of Tenea. Also, his short hair became fashionable in Athens decades earlier than in other Greek cities.
Young Man Wearing a Diadem
Young Man Wearing a Diadem is a rare Greek bronze but only the head of a sculpture depicting a young adolescent athlete survived. It is either a Greek original from 450 BC or a recast or altered cast from the first century AD. Either way, a bronze of such quality surviving to the present is very rare. Adolf Furtwängler, the museum director at the turn of the 19th century, considered it the most perfect work in the Glyptothek.
Diomedes
Diomedes depicts a story as exciting as the sculpture: Diomedes and Odysseus return to the Greek camp after having stolen the Athena Palladium from Troy. Odysseus, fearing Diomedes will claim the honors alone, tries to draw his sword but Diomedes sees it glimmering in the moonlight. Diomedes quickly pulls his own sword and forces Odysseus to precede him while Diomedes still carries the wooden trophy in his left hand. The sculpture has lost his legs, arms, and the palladium but Diomedes forever looks sideways to keep an eye on Odysseus and his sheath is empty, as his sword is held for security in his (now lost) right hand.
This 2nd century AD marble copy is from the Greek bronze original sculpted by Kresilas around 440 BC.
Munich King
The so-called Munich King is a Roman copy of an early classical Greek original showing a hesitant, stiff contrapposto from around 460 BC. The royal connection was made from the headband but it is almost certainly a depiction of Hephaestus (Vulcan in Roman mythology), the god of blacksmiths.
Aphrodite of Cnidus
When Praxiteles dared to create the first full-size nude sculpture of a goddess around 350 BC he simultaneously caused a scandal and sensation. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, is naked and although her right hand is now lost, it has never covered as much as is being revealed.
Tarticularly famous. All major emperors are represented including the Bevilacqua Augustus — arguably the finest of the around 150 surviving copies of this official portrait.
Other busts have an interesting story, such as the boy Geta (around AD 200). Soon after becoming emperor, Caracalla murdered his younger brother Geta and imposed a “demnatio memorial” on him. He was erased from history and only a few portraits survived. It was only identified as Geta after arriving in Munich — Ludwig was not impressed. While Ludwig insisted on quality, he also had other requirements. When a further portrait of Geta was discovered, he gave clear instructions that it must not be bought. He wanted rulers, not the sons of emperors.
In the same hall are also more complete statues:
- The Alexander Rondanini, a Roman copy of a Greek original from 330 BC was considered by Johann Joachim Winckelmann as “the only true image” of Alexander the Great. Most archaeologists now agree that it actually Achilles. The resemblance to depictions of Alexander is explained by Alexander claiming Achilles as an ancestor.
- Domitian as Sun God was originally a depiction of Nero but it was reworked around AD100. From the rear, contrapposto is still very obvious even if you lose most of your legs.
Apollo and Artemis Sculptures in the Glyptothek
Artemis Braschi
The marble sculpture of Artemis, goddess of hunting, is a Roman original from the first century BC but clearly inspired by much earlier Greek works. The clinging dress for Artemis is untypical for Greek art but more in line with the Roman Diana, who was also the goddess of fertility.
Apollo Barberini
The Glyptothek has several Apollos (some misidentified but the names stuck) but the Apollo Barberini is particularly striking. In this large Roman marble copy from around AD1 of a Greek original from around 420 BC, the god of music (amongst other things) is wearing a long cloak and elaborate hairstyle. From a few rooms away, he looks almost female to the modern eye.
Comical Sculptures in the Glyptothek in Munich
The final room in the Glyptothek has a few sculptures that are almost comical to the modern eye but it is worth keeping in mind that any art of such high quality produced in antiquity had almost certainly a deeper religious or at least moral lesson:
- Drunken Old Woman is a Roman marble copy of the Greek original from around 200 BC. It shows a drunken old woman clutching an enormous bottle of wine to demonstrate the power of Dionysus over anyone. Even an old, well-dressed woman may succumb to his power. For much of the 19th century, the sculpture was considered too ugly for public display and languished in the store room. (Another copy is on display in the Capitoline Museums in Rome.)
- Boy with a Goose is a fine example of the Roman marble copies of the original Greek bronze.
- Tail-grabbing Satyr is a small Roman sculpture of a Greek original from 150 BC. Although much damaged, it shows the moment the young naked satyr turns around to look at his horse’s tail, as if satyr and viewer discover at the same moment that he is not human. Turning around under spotlights enhances the intended erotic effect.
See Visit the Glyptothek Museum of Sculptures from Antiquity in Munich for more details on the museum, opening hours, and tickets.
→ More photos of the Glyptothek sculptures at Flickr.
More on Top Art Museums in München
- Where to See What — a brief description of Munich’s top art museums and galleries.
- Alte Pinakothek — top Old Master paintings (and some 19th-century paintings while the Neue Pinakothek is under renovation.)
- Glyptohek — one of the world’s best Greek and Roman sculpture collections from antiquity.
- Lenbachhaus — the largest The Blue Rider collection in the world but also modern art exhibitions.
- Save with the Munich Card and City Pass on transportation and sightseeing — most museums are covered.
- Visit the royal castles of King Ludwig II near Munich to see the 19th-century historicist interiors of Schloss Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, and Herrenchiemsee Palace.
