Athena Giustiniani [SEP] material used
Athena Giustiniani
The Parian marble Athena Giustiniani or Giustiniani Minerva is an Antonine Roman marble copy of a Greek sculpture of Pallas Athena, of the late fifth-early fourth century BCE.
The sculpture was probably a cult image rather than a decorative culture trophy. The serpent at Athena's right foot recalls the archaic myth of Erichthonius in his serpent form. The forearms are restorations, as are the spear and the sphinx upon the goddess's Corinthian helmet.
Discovery and reputation.
It was discovered in the early 17th
Athena Giustiniani, and the Giustiniani Hestia.
Giustiniani followed interests in many other fields, writing essays in architecture, music, and art, as well as on such practical matters as hunting, travel, and horse trading. A friend and neighbour of Caravaggio's first patron, cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte, he extended his own friendship to the artist, purchasing "Saint Matthew and the Angel" when it was rejected by church officials for its perceived lack of decorum.
He died in Rome in 1637.
Legacy