The ''Farnese Bull'' (), formerly in the

Farnese collection The Farnese Collection is one of the first collections of artistic items from Greco-Roman antiquity. It includes some of the most influential classical works, including the sculptures that were part of the Farnese Marbles, their collection of st ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, is a massive Roman elaborated copy of a Hellenistic sculpture. It is the largest single sculpture yet recovered from antiquity. Along with the rest of the Farnese antiquities, it has been since 1826 in the collection of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale Napoli in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, inv. no. 6002, though in recent years sometimes displayed at the

Museo di Capodimonte Museo di Capodimonte is an art museum located in the Palace of Capodimonte, a grand Bourbon palazzo in Naples, Italy designed by Giovanni Antonio Medrano. The museum is the prime repository of Neapolitan painting and decorative art, with se ...

across the city. The sculpture in Naples is much restored, and includes around the base a child, a dog, and other animals not apparently in the original composition, which is known from versions in other media.

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

mentions what was presumably the

prime version In the art world, if an artwork exists in several versions, the one known or believed to be the earliest is called the prime version. Many artworks produced in media such as painting or carved sculpture which create unique objects are in fact r ...

of it as the work of the

Rhodian Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

artists Apollonius of Tralles and his brother Tauriscus, stating that it was commissioned at the end of the 2nd century BC and carved from just one whole block of marble. It was imported from Rhodes as part of the remarkable collection of artwork and sculpture owned by Asinius Pollio, a Roman politician who lived during the years between the Republic and the Principate. This colossal

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

sculptural group represents the myth of Dirce, first wife of Lykos, King of Thebes. She was tied to a wild bull by Amphion and Zethus, the sons of Antiope, who wanted to punish Dirce for the ill-treatment inflicted on their mother.

Rediscovery and reconstruction

The group was unearthed in 1546 during excavations at gymnasium of the Roman

Baths of Caracalla The Baths of Caracalla () in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Ancient Rome, Roman public baths, or ''thermae'', after the Baths of Diocletian. The baths were likely built between AD 212 (or 211) and 216/217, during the reigns of empero ...

, commissioned by

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

in the hope of finding ancient sculptures to adorn the

Palazzo Farnese Palazzo Farnese () or Farnese Palace is one of the most important High Renaissance palaces in Rome. Owned by the Italian Republic, it was given to the French government in 1936 for a period of 99 years, and currently serves as the French e ...

, the Farnese family's palatial residence in Rome. This sculpture is dated to the Severian period (A.D. 222–235). Unlike the discoveries of the

Farnese Hercules The ''Farnese Hercules'' () is an ancient statue of Hercules made in the early third century AD and signed by Glykon, who is otherwise unknown; he was an Athenian but he may have worked in Rome. Like many other Ancient Roman sculptures it is a ...

and the Latin Hercules from this excavation, which were documented as to their location, the only reference to this grouping is from a 1595 engraving by Etienne du Perac of the ruins of the Baths, showing the end of the east

palestra The Palestra, often called the Cathedral of College Basketball, is a historic arena and the home gym of the Penn Quakers men's and women's basketball teams, volleyball teams, wrestling team, and Philadelphia Big 5 basketball. Located at 235 So ...

, which states: "...in the time of Paul III many beautiful fragments of statues and animals were found that were all in one piece in antiquity ... and Cardinal Farnese had terected now in his Palazzo." The group underwent a substantial restoration in the 16th century, when

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

planned to use it for a fountain to be installed at the centre of a garden between Palazzo Farnese and the

Villa Farnesina The Villa Farnesina is a Renaissance suburban villa in the Via della Lungara, in the district of Trastevere in Rome, central Italy. Built between 1506 and 1510 for Agostino Chigi, the Pope's wealthy Sienese banker, it was a novel type of suburb ...

. It also could have been adapted for this use soon after it was found, which is supported by descriptions from the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

era. Further restorations were made in the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1883, the original sculpture was noted by Domenico Monaco, curator of the (then) National Museum in Naples, to have been carved from a block of marble measuring ; after its restorations, the work's perimeter is approximately on each side and over high. As it is today, the sculpture weighs 21.8 tonnes (24 short tons). It has been argued that the sculpture noted by Pliny in his ''Natural History'' could not be the Farnese Bull, which is instead a 3rd-century AD Roman version, made specifically for Caracalla's Baths. Other scholars dispute this, arguing that since the work was originally located in the nearby ''Horti Asiniani'', or Asiniani gardens, which the Pollio family owned, to have commissioned a copy specifically for the Baths would have meant both pieces would have been displayed in very close proximity. It is shown in the 1954 film '' Journey to Italy'' along with the

. Henry Peacham, in ''The Compleat Gentleman'', says that it "out-strippeth all other Statues in the world for greatnesse and workemanship". EB1911 Greek Art - Farnese Bull.jpg, The Farnese Bull as it was depicted in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.), v. 12, 1911, Plate I, between pp. 480 and 481 (or pp. 472 and 473 depending on edition), Fig. 51. Farnese_Bull_MAN_Napoli_Inv6002_n07.jpg, An oblique front view of the Farnese Bull. Note that lighting greatly affects the appearance of the marble. Farnese Bull MAN Napoli Inv6002 n02.jpg, A detail view of the bull's head and the male figure holding it by the horns. Toro farnese.JPG, Front view, taken largely in natural light. Farnese Bull front.jpg, A front view, taken primarily using artificial light. Farnese Bull side.jpg, A side view showing a standing female figure that is obscured when the piece is viewed from the front. Farnese Bull back.jpg, A back view, showing further detail in the base, support for one of the male figures, and the standing female figure. Berlin plaster cast of Farnese Bull - 1.jpg,

Plaster cast A plaster cast is a copy made in plaster of another 3-dimensional form. The original from which the cast is taken may be a sculpture, building, a face, a pregnant belly, a fossil or other remains such as fresh or fossilised footprints – ...

of the Farnese Bull in the Gipsformerei, Berlin-Charlottenburg, Germany

Notes

References

*Smith, R.R.R., ''Hellenistic Sculpture, a handbook'', Thames & Hudson, 1991,

External links

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di NapoliCensus of Antique Works of Art and Architecture Known in the Renaissance
{{coord, 40.8534, N, 14.2505, E, source:wikidata, display=title 2nd-century Roman sculptures Farnese Collection Sculptures in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples Hellenistic sculpture Archaeological discoveries in Italy Sculptures of cattle