Head Of Hermes by Praxiteles (4th century B.C.) It has been said that in the fourth century, the gods descended a little from Olympus and became more like human beings. That might have been said concerning this magnificent work of Praxiteles. With his Hermes the abstract beauty has become more closely related to physical beauty. It is as though the master had changed marble to flesh through the soft modeling of the face. The detached gaze implies a dreamy contemplation. The head has been made from the full figure of Hermes holding the infant Dionysus. It was found in the ruins of the temple of Hera at Olympia, site of the original Olympic games. Praxiteles, Skopas, and Lysippos were considered the greatest sculptors of the fourth century. We know the works of all three through Roman copies which were made, but the Hermes of Praxiteles is the only statue that has come down to us from the actual hand of one of these great sculptors. It is now in the Museum at Olympia close to the temple where it was found .BASE IS 7 X 7 SQUARE. Will come on a wood base from reclaimed lumber. Not the base as shown.
