The Abduction of Polyxena

The Abduction of Polyxena (or The Rape of Polyxena) is a marble statue located in the Loggia dei Lanzi, the open-air museum in Florence, Italy's Piazza della Signoria. The work was sculpted in 1868 by the Italian sculptor Pio Fedi (1815-1892) who, albeit working chiefly in the Romantic style, was placed alongside several sculptures from the Renaissance. The Abduction of Polyxena embodies Hellenistic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical mannerisms regarding its style and theme. Fedi intricately blended multiple styles and stories in order to contruct the complicated work. The most prominent literary sources of the Greek legent concerning Polyxena are Ovid's Metamorphoses, Euripides' Hecuba and Bocaccio's Famous Women. Polyxena was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. Achilles fell in love and wished to marry her. One story relates that she helped set up his murder and another tells that he died in battle. Achilles ghost demanded Polyxena's sacrifice on his tomb. This sculpture shows the Greeks seizing her.The modern group, with its four large figures, was produced out of a single block of marble, and, until the work was executed, the sculptor was exceedingly poor and comparatively unknown, but this achievement lifted him at once out of poverty and obscurity. This remarkable work was purchased by the city of Florence on condition that the artist would not reproduce the subject, and it was placed here in the Loggia with the works of some of the greatest of Italian sculptors. It represents a mythological subject, the forcible abduction of Polyxena by Achilles.The warrior, whose form is characterized by great strength and beauty, encircles the form of the maiden with his left arm, while his right is uplifted and in its hand is a sword with which he is about to strike down the mother, Hecuba, who, kneeling at his feet, implores his mercy while she clings piteously to her child and the betrayer. The entire group is exceedingly strong, not unworthy of the immortal company by which it is surrounded, and the powerful impression which it makes upon all beholders is intensified when one recalls the fact that, on the promontory of Sigeum - so the legend goes - where, after the fall of Troy, were buried the ashes of the hero-leader Achilles, and those of his friend Patroclus, Polyxena was offered as a propitiatory sacrifice. The group is instinct with vitality, passion and action, and seems more real and lifelike the oftener you behold it.《波利克塞娜的劫掠》（The Abduction of Polyxena，也译作《波利克塞娜的强夺》）是一尊大理石雕塑，现陈列于意大利佛罗伦萨领主广场（Piazza della Signoria）的露天博物馆兰齐敞廊（Loggia dei Lanzi）内。该作品由意大利雕塑家皮奥·费迪（Pio Fedi，1815-1892）于1868年创作。尽管费迪主要创作风格为浪漫主义，但该作品却与多件文艺复兴时期雕塑并置展出。《波利克塞娜的劫掠》在风格与主题上兼具希腊化时期、文艺复兴、巴洛克与新古典主义的艺术特质，费迪精心融合多种风格与叙事元素，打造出这件构图繁复的杰作。该希腊传说中关于波利克塞娜的核心文学蓝本包括奥维德的《变形记》（Metamorphoses）、欧里庇得斯的《赫卡柏》（Hecuba）以及薄伽丘的《名女传》（Famous Women）。波利克塞娜是特洛伊国王普里阿摩斯与王后赫卡柏之女，阿喀琉斯（Achilles）对其一见倾心，欲娶其为妻。有传说称她参与了谋害阿喀琉斯的计划，也有说法称阿喀琉斯死于战场。阿喀琉斯的鬼魂要求将波利克塞娜献祭在自己的墓前，这件雕塑描绘了希腊人劫持波利克塞娜的场景。这件由四尊大型人物组成的雕塑群，由一整块大理石雕刻而成。在创作该作品之前，费迪生活窘迫、鲜为人知，但这件作品一经完成，便令他立刻摆脱了贫困与无名之境。这件杰出的作品被佛罗伦萨市收购，收购条件为艺术家不得复刻该主题，随后它便与一众意大利顶级雕塑家的作品一同陈列于兰齐敞廊之中。该作品取材于神话主题，描绘了阿喀琉斯强行劫掠波利克塞娜的场景。雕塑中的战士身形兼具力量与美感，左臂环抱着少女的躯体，右臂高举，手中持剑，正欲挥向跪倒在他脚边的赫卡柏（Hecuba）——赫卡柏正紧紧依偎着女儿，痛苦地向施暴者恳求怜悯。整座群雕极具视觉张力，无愧于周遭一众不朽杰作的水准，而当人们联想到特洛伊陷落之后，在西吉乌姆海角——传说中此处埋葬着英雄阿喀琉斯与其挚友帕特洛克罗斯（Patroclus）的骨灰——波利克塞娜被用作祭献以安抚阿喀琉斯亡灵的史实时，这件作品带给观者的强烈震撼便更添一层。这件群雕充满了生命力、激情与动感，观者愈是常观，愈觉其栩栩如生。