How the "Dying Gaul" and the "Boxer at Rest" show the shift from impassivity to expressionism

The Hellenistic period saw a significant change in the artwork where artists shifted from the approaches they employed in the Athenian high classical art and started using Pergamene existential realism. The "Dying Gaul" and the "Boxer at Rest" show perfectly this shift where artists abandoned impassivity expressed in Athenian art and turn to expressionism. In the “Dying Gaul” is a bronze sculpture that was done in celebration of the victory of Attalos 1of Pergamon against the Celtic Galatians (Marszal, 2017) . The statue shows a Celtic who is dying while leaning on his hand. There is an exhibition of remarkable realism, especially on his face, with a typically Gallic mustache and hairstyle with a torc around his neck. The “Boxer at Rest” shows a bronze sculpture of a boxer who is sitting nude resting. Realism has been widely employed in the artwork with a mouth suggesting broken teeth, a broken nose, a bruised face, and an over-muscled torso (Marszal, 2017) .

The two pieces of art are monoscenic, where the artists do not repeat other characters since their emphasis is only on the single action taking place. Further, the sculptures are asymmetrical characteristic of the Pergamene art, which evokes a feeling of movement. In the “Dying Gaul”, asymmetry is used to show the warrior gradually falling to the ground leaning in his hand. Additionally, the artists employ real proportion in the sculptures to emphasize the torso, arms, and legs, which also contribute towards creating empiricism (Marszal, 2017) . The "Dying Gaul" shows his conquering of agony and consenting to death, with his drooping head sinking gradually low to depict the focus of the artists on the outward look rather than the inner feelings of their subjects. It is worth noting that the artwork during this period singled out individual members of groups. As in the "Dying Gaul", the sculptor was particular on one Celtic rather than creating a scene of a defeated army.

References 

Marszal, J. R. (2017). Tradition and Innovation in Early Pergamene Sculpture.  Regional Schools in Hellenistic Sculpture , 117-128. doi:10.2307/j.ctvh1dhp4.16