Diogenes of Sinope, known as the Cynic, was an ancient Greek philosopher. Considered one of the founders of the Cynic school with his master Antisthenes. In ancient and modern times, his personality has attracted many sculptors and painters. Ancient busts and statues exist in the Vatican Museums and the Louvre as well as in the park of the Palace of Versailles, where a Hermes bust of the philosopher made by the sculptor Matthieu Lespagnandelle was placed in 1688.
The bust, in Candoglia marble, a precious marble quarried north of Milan, is from the Lombard school. Its dimensions are imposing.
Diogenes is here represented in three quarters, with an austere look and open mouth, as in most of his representations from the Greek era. The state of conservation is very good, note slight traces of wear and small signs of aging, a marble reconstruction of the tip of the nose.
Measure
H cm 73
L cm 64