The Athlete Holding a Discus Known as the 'Discophoros' Photos courtesy of Macao Museum of Art

For a statue subjected on sport, the Athlete Holding a Discus Known as the "Discophoros" is deceivingly tranquil. In a moment between disrobing and actually throwing the discus, the young athlete's face is calm, even contemplative. Yet tension is not far beneath, betrayed by the clenched toes.

"Just as serenity prevails in the depths of the sea however turbulent its surface may be, an outward sobriety is always obvious in a Greek sculpture that belies the tempestuous emotions of the soul that resides within it," wrote German art historian Johann Joachin Wincklemann (1717-1768).

The statue, currently displayed in the Macao Museum of Art, is one of the 134 Louvre collections on an Asian tour exhibition. Dated between the first and second century, the marble statue is believed to be a copy of a bronze original created by Greek sculptor Naucydes around 400-390 BC.

In the tradition of naked athletes started by Polycletus, of whom Naucydes is a pupil, the Athlete Holding a Discus Known as the "Discophoros" embodies aesthetic values of the Greek art's classical period.

Young, muscular and solidly-built, the athlete is of perfect human form. However, the sculptor gave a realistic rendering of the muscular deformations of a discus thrower - the arching of the powerful deltoids.

Sport is one of the most important and popular part of life for ancient Greeks. Pentathlon, consisting of five disciplines including discus throwing, is the most prestigious event in sports festivals such as the Olympics.

The solemn facial expression is another characteristic of artworks from the classical era.

Believing that civilized societies were built on the foundation of logic, ancient Greeks considered it a noble quality to suppress emotions. Only enemies would display their feelings which was considered a sign of barbarism.

"I love Greek sculptures... So beautiful and so serene," said Ung Vai Meng, Director of the Macao Museum of Art.

Plato in the Land of Confucius

The tour exhibition of the Louvre collections is a precious opportunity to see Greek artworks, the director said.

Portrait of Socrates

The Louvre made the rare arrangement to have 134 cultural and historical relics displayed outside the premises because its Department of Greek, Roman and Etruscan Antiquities is undergoing a major renovation in 2007 and 2008.

"Never before the Louvre have loaned out so many important relics. Usually a loan is of several dozen pieces," said Ung.

The Macao museum is the last stop of the tour, after the Capital Museum in Beijing and the National Museum of Singapore.

In an earlier interview with China Daily, curator of the Capital Museum Guo Xiaoling disclosed that many museums tried to borrow the exhibits but only the three Asian museums succeeded.

The Beijing, Singapore and Macao museums had worked closely together to prepare the tour, which took almost one whole year.

Each contributes in their own way, said Ung. "The Beijing museum has a team of experts with masterly knowledge of Greek art; the Singapore museum is experienced with setting up an exhibition; our advantages are in terms of language skills and transport."

The Macao show offers a unique angle that's not even available in the Louvre: since the exhibition is staged in a two-story hall of the Macao Museum of Art, people can view the sculptures and the set-up from above. "A staff of the Louvre discovered this," Ung said.

The theme of the Macao exhibition is "Plato in the Land of Confucius - Greek Art from the Louvre".

Explaining the theme, Ung said: "Imagine it's 600 BC. In China, it's an era of great thinkers and philosophers - Lao Tzu, Confucius, Mo Tzu and Chuang Tzu. A hundreds schools of thought contend. In the other side of the earth, an entirely different civilization is flourishing."

The Western civilization is rooted in two cultures, the Hebrew Culture and the Greek Culture. While the Hebrew Culture emphasized devotion, ethics and the redemption of human souls, the Greek Culture concerned itself with rational deliberation and pursuit of the perfect life. "While the former imbued the West with religious passion and spiritual power, the latter discovered logic and revered 'beauty'..." Ung wrote in an introduction to the exhibition.

The deep reverence for beauty produced some of finest artworks of the humankind. Even more importantly, the Greek aesthetics became an ideal and model admired and emulated by generations of artists well into the 19th century.

"One can never fail to receive the irresistible lure and affection for art in pure and elegant Greek art, nor can one help being shaken to the core by this ancient civilization," Ung wrote.

Aside from the Athlete Holding a Discus Known as the "Discophoros", works of artistic significance such as the "Athena Parthenos" and "Aphrodite" marble sculptures are also on display.

The exhibition is divided into four sections, namely Life in Ancient Greece; Spirit of Competition of the Ancient Greeks; Religious Worship in Ancient Greece and Souls of Ancient Greece. While admirers of Socrates would find it interesting to see a bust of the great thinker, bathing tools and children's dolls shed light onto more intimate details of ancient Greeks.

The exhibition is only a beginning, said Ung. To cultivate locals' interest in the Greek art, the museum has organized lectures, workshops as well as story-telling sessions for children.

On May 24, the Muse Graffiti Zone was opened outside forsaken buildings on Rua dos Mercadores for the public to create graffiti with a Greek art theme.

It's always the museum's aspiration to become a spiritual home of art. Free admission on Sunday has been its tradition since inauguration. Ung hopes the museum can function like a "church" for people to relax, enjoy the quietness and absorb the beauty of art.

"Junk food doesn't kill you instantly, but your health would suffer eventually. Likewise, our spirit would suffer without the nutrition from art," he said.

(HK Edition 05/30/2008 page4)