Aristotle, Marble Commission – Concord Univ. Athens, WV

Carved out of marble from the same quarry that of the Acropolis statuary, the twice life sized portrait bust of Aristotle, founder of the school at Athens, Greece, shown below was the result of collaboration between a former language instructor of Greek descent, and the art department at Concord College, now University.

As an alumnus, I was asked to design and carve the bust. I found a copy of a death mask taken from Aristotle, and many verbal descriptions. He was said to have had a broad forehead, deep set eyes, prominent cheek bones, aquiline nose, close cropped beard and mustache, and short bushy hair. The bust was to be carved in a traditional Greek style.

Dedicated by an emissary from the Greek Embassy, he remarked on how closely it followed both the tradition and style of sculpture in Aristotle’s life time.

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