Boy with Thorn Bronze Sculpture
2024 © Maxim Tabachnik
Gilded Bronze Statue of HerculesRelief of Marcus Aurelius on HorsebackCombat of the Horatii and CuriatiiStatue of Pope Urban VIIIEquestrian Statue of Marcus AureliusBoy with Thorn Bronze SculptureArtemis of Ephesus StatueCapitoline Wolf Sculpture with Romulus and RemusCombat Between Horatii and Curiatii FrescoGladiators Fighting FrescoHoratius Cocles Defending the BridgeCombat of the Horatii and Curiatii

Boy with Thorn Bronze Sculpture

58
Boy with Thorn or Spinario (1st c. BC) is a Roman bronze sculpture, a rare copy of a Greek Hellenistic original. It shows a nude boy extracting a thorn from his foot, possibly Ascanius, son of Aeneas, or a young grape harvester. It gained Renaissance acclaim and influenced many artists. Pope Sixtus IV’s 1471 donation of bronzes, including this piece, marked the founding of the world’s oldest public collection.