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Vroutos Georgios (1843 - 1909)
The Boy with the Crab, 1891
Marble, 125 x 50 x 50 cm
Nikolaos Ioannis Iliopoulos Bequest
Inv. Number
Π.1419
On view
National Glyptotheque
Georgios Vroutos’ “The Boy with the Crab” continues the tradition of the nude child in nature that was introduced by Dimitrios Filippotis in 1870. Vroutos was a sculptor with a genuinely classical education. At the same time, however, he was interested in compositions with realistic content, which were designed to decorate public and private gardens.
“The Boy with the Crab” combines the artist’s classical influences with a realistic rendition. The naked boy has just emerged from the sea and is holding his mantle. Terrified by the sight of the crab, he is leaning backward in an effort to strike the crab with the stone he holds in his broken right hand.
The composition is characterized by the smooth refined modeling of the childish body, the harmonious proportions and the successful adaptation of a rather rare subject as an image of daily life.