Where Is Dying Gaul? See It at Capitoline Museums

Q: Where can I see the Dying Gaul?

It's in the Palazzo Nuovo at the Capitoline Museums in Rome, in the Gladiator Room. Pope Clement XII acquired it for the Capitoline collection in the 1730s.

Q: How old is the Dying Gaul?

The marble statue in Rome is a Roman copy from the 1st or 2nd century CE. The original was a Greek bronze made around 230-220 BCE, probably by the sculptor Epigonus. It was commissioned by King Attalus I of Pergamon to celebrate his victory over the invading Galatian Celts.

Q: What details identify him as a Gaul?

Several clues mark him as a Celtic warrior: his thick, lime-washed hairstyle (a Celtic grooming practice), a distinctive moustache, and a torc (twisted metal neck ring) around his throat. He's shown naked, as ancient writers noted that Gauls sometimes fought without armor. A sword wound bleeds from his lower right chest.

Q: Has the statue traveled?

Yes. Napoleon's forces took it to Paris in 1797, where it was displayed at the Louvre. It was returned to Rome in 1816. More recently, it traveled to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. for a special exhibition in 2013, one of the few times it's left Italy in the modern era.

The Dying Gaul depicts a wounded Celtic warrior in his final moments, propped on one arm as life ebbs away. This Roman marble copy preserves an Ancient Greek bronze original from around 230 BCE, commissioned to celebrate Pergamon's victory over the Galatians. The sculpture dignifies its subject even in defeat, showing the warrior's noble suffering rather than abject collapse.

The Gaul's distinctive features mark him as foreign: a torque around his neck, mustache, and tousled hair contrasting with clean-shaven Greek ideals. His sword and shield lie abandoned beside him. The psychological realism was radical, presenting an enemy as fully human rather than a caricature.

The statue has been at the Capitoline Museums in Rome since 1737, inspiring artists from Goya to contemporary photographers. It's one of the finest examples of Hellenistic emotional intensity in sculpture.

It's in the Palazzo Nuovo at the Capitoline Museums in Rome, in the Gladiator Room. Pope Clement XII acquired it for the Capitoline collection in the 1730s.

The marble statue in Rome is a Roman copy from the 1st or 2nd century CE. The original was a Greek bronze made around 230-220 BCE, probably by the sculptor Epigonus. It was commissioned by King Attalus I of Pergamon to celebrate his victory over the invading Galatian Celts.

Several clues mark him as a Celtic warrior: his thick, lime-washed hairstyle (a Celtic grooming practice), a distinctive moustache, and a torc (twisted metal neck ring) around his throat. He's shown naked, as ancient writers noted that Gauls sometimes fought without armor. A sword wound bleeds from his lower right chest.

Yes. Napoleon's forces took it to Paris in 1797, where it was displayed at the Louvre. It was returned to Rome in 1816. More recently, it traveled to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. for a special exhibition in 2013, one of the few times it's left Italy in the modern era.

Dying Gaul

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

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About Dying Gaul

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