Artwork Details
- Title
- The Wrestlers
- Artist
- Artist Unknown
- Year
- 3rd century BCE; cast c. 1885; relocated 1952, 1997
- Location
- Horticulture Center grounds (Belmont Avenue and North Horticultural Drive, West Fairmount Park)
- Medium
- Bronze, on granite base
- Dimensions
- Height 3’2″ (base 2’3″)
Artwork Description
These men are engaged in the Greek sport pankration, a blend of wrestling and boxing. This sculpture is based on the 3rd century BCE Greek original, which was lost in antiquity. First century BCE Romans made a marble copy, which was restored in 1853 and later displayed at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. This cast was made from the Italian marble copy.
In 1885, financier and philanthropist Anthony J. Drexel, the first president of Association for Public Art (then known as Fairmount Park Art Association), purchased this bronze cast from the Barbedienne foundry in Paris for display in Fairmount Park.
Artwork Credits
Acquired by Association for Public Art (formerly Fairmount Park Art Association), gift of Anthony Drexel
Owned by the City of Philadelphia
Artwork Media
Museum Without Walls
Voices:
COACH ALRAY JOHNSON, SR. was inducted into West Chester University’s Athletic Hall of Fame for wrestling in 1972, and qualified for the 1976 Olympic Trials. He serves on the executive committee of The National Wrestling Hall of Fame’s Pennsylvania Chapter.
AL GURY is an artist and teacher of anatomy, drawing, and painting. He is Chair of the Painting Department of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
ANN KUTTNER is Associate Professor of Greek, Roman and Etruscan Art in the Department of Art History at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on Hellenistic, Roman, and Late Antique socio-political history, visual language, and material culture.
Producer: Marit Haahr