PLATE XLV
Eros
"He is springing forward, lightly poised on the toes of his right foot. The left arm is extended forward and holds the socket of a torch; the right is lowered and held obliquely from the body with fingers extended. He is nude and winged, the feathers of the wings being indicated on the front side by incised lines. His hair is curly and short, except for one tuft which is gathered about the centre of the head and braided.
"This famous statue is one of the finest representations of Eros known. The artist has admirably succeeded in conveying the lightness and grace associated in our minds with the conception of Eros. Everything in the figure suggests rapid forward motion; but this is attained without sacrificing the perfect balance of all parts, so that the impression made is at the same time one of buoyancy and of restraint. The childlike character of the figure is brought out in the lithe, rounded limbs and the smiling, happy face" (Miss G. M. A. Richter, Greek, Etruscan and Roman Bronzes in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 85-86). From a Hellenistic bronze in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (photograph). See pp. 203-04.
