Terracotta statuette of an emaciated woman

Terracotta statuette of an emaciated woman

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This statuette of an emaciated woman with elongated proportions is a striking portrayal of the human condition. At first glance, she looks like an old woman, with her bony frame and sagging, ill-shapen breasts that hang above her slightly bulging belly. But her statuesque contrapposto pose, diaphanous dress that slips off her right shoulder, and the style of her hair, which is worn long and down, suggest that she is a young woman who is suffering from a debilitating disease.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Terracotta statuette of an emaciated womanTerracotta statuette of an emaciated womanTerracotta statuette of an emaciated womanTerracotta statuette of an emaciated womanTerracotta statuette of an emaciated woman

The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than thirty thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period (ca. 4500 B.C.) to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The geographic regions represented are Greece and Italy, but not as delimited by modern political frontiers: Greek colonies were established around the Mediterranean basin and on the shores of the Black Sea, and Cyprus became increasingly Hellenized. For Roman art, the geographical limits coincide with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The department also exhibits the art of prehistoric Greece (Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan) and pre-Roman art of Italic peoples, notably the Etruscans.