Belvedere Torso
The Belvedere Torso was a statue in Rome during the time from the 1430's. This statue was made out of marble and was in the figure of a nude male which looked to stand just over 5 feet tall. The Belvedere Torso was signed by "Apollonios, son of Nestor Athenian", which is now Museo Pio-Clementino. The Belvedere Torso was once believed to be an original to the first century, but now is said to be a replica of an older statue. The identity of this statue remains unknow, and debatable to many. The Belvedere Torso was a statue that had different meanings and intentions throughout its time in the world, and through different classes of people. After many centuries later, the Belvedere Torso statue made it the second to last home, where its seated Hercules. Before that, the Belvedere Torso made its way to Vatican, headquarters in Rome. When the Belvedere Torso was found there was many altercations done to it. In the form it was found, people believe the statutes condition told a story. The head was leaning to the right sadly towards the hand which the had was found gripping the sword. Lastly, the statute was signed by sculptor Apollonios.
The significance of the Belvedere Torso is mentioned in book 2 chapter 19 of the book Middlemarch by George Eliot. The chapter opens up with George the Fourth having pride over the privacies or Windsor. Reading Middlemarch is like having a vivid dream, you just gaze over the words/image and you can just use your imagination to create your own picture that is most likely accurate while making it your own. Eliot explains romanticism and how it helps fill dull blanks with love and knowledge. George Eliot continues to emphasize the romance when the young man was looking at the view over a mounting with the famous, impressive sculpture, Belvedere Torso was behind his back. Goosebumps ran down the back of those reading the detailed narration. Eliot later in the chapter describes what could be mistaken for the Belvedere Torso, “Lies in the marble voluptuousness of her beauty, the drapery folding around her with a petal-like ease and tenderness” (Chap. XIX). I think Eliot was describing the beauty of a female, as the paragraph continues with a very detailed summery, the just paints a picture in your head. In rome, the Belvedere Torso was installed in the Cortile del Belvedere as the statue joined Apollo Belvedere and other famous Roman art sculptures.