In the Flesh: Body Fat in Ancient Art
Ancient Greek and Roman writers criticized bodies of different sizes for a variety of reasons. But in works of art, body fat was often depicted in ways that defy our expectations.
A Different Ideal
Terms like "overweight" and "underweight" originate in modern medicine's concept of an ideal body weight. Calculated to minimize mortality risk, this medically desirable weight varies based on such factors as height, age, and fitness.
Ancient Greeks and Romans compared the appearance of their bodies with respect to a more abstract ideal.
For the ancient physician Galen, measurements for the ideal body were expressed centuries earlier in the Canon, a treatise on statue proportions by the 5th-century BC sculptor Polykleitos:
"[Neither the overweight nor the underweight body] is in due proportion. But the body which equals the Canon of Polykleitos reaches the summit of complete symmetry."
— Galen, Ars Medica K 343
Male Torso Male Torso (about A.D. 100) by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum
For the ancient Greeks, precisely measured weight was less important than the perception of symmetry and balance.
They had a term for this desirable state of wellness: εὔσαρκος (eusarkos), meaning "well-fleshed" or "fleshy."
Mosaic Floor with Combat Between Dares and Entellus (A.D. 175–200) by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Because the Greeks prized moderation in all things, bodies or behaviors that stood out from this ideal were targets of criticism. Perhaps surprisingly, this criticism also applied to muscular athletes, such as wrestlers and boxers, who required constant high-calorie diets.
Statuette of a Boxer Statuette of a Boxer (A.D. 100–200) by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Big Bodies in Comedy
Mockery of those who ate more or less than necessary was one way to impose social compliance and maintain political order.
Apulian Red-Figure Bell Krater Apulian Red-Figure Bell Krater (370–360 B.C.) by Cotugno PainterThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Many Greek and South Italian vases often depict comic actors wearing "fat suits" (as well as a mask and a phallus) to embody popular character types.
Actors used such props as comic gags, and vase painters often represented them with great care.
On this Apulian mixing bowl, lines extending across the actor's chest make clear that his large, sagging breasts are artificial. His belly is unnaturally circular and hangs too low — further evidence that he is wearing a costume.
It seems that the painter wanted to pointedly emphasize the exaggerated nature of such costumes.
Fragment of an Apulian Squat Lekythos (350–325 B.C.) by Darius PainterThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Ample Satyrs
Not all depictions of larger bodies were mocking. Animal ears and the double flute identify this figure as a satyr, or a woodland deity. He reclines in a pose that would remind viewers of the satyrs' master, the wine god Dionsyos, who is often depicted reclining at a banquet.
Instead of on a fancy couch, the chubby old satyr rests on a full wineskin!
Under tufts of gray hair, lines accentuate the curving folds of the old satyr's body. Unlike the ridiculously artificial bodies of the padded actors, the satyr's big, hairy body is gentle and soft.
Like the plump pillow on which he rests, the satyr appears comfortable and at ease. This scene is meant to be lighthearted, and does not appear cruel or mocking.
Similar attention to detail can be seen in this Roman wall painting of the old satyr Silenus. The painter’s skillful use of red shadows and pink highlights builds up the volume of his chest and stomach, which appear both soft and sturdy at the same time.
These fleshly older satyrs were symbols of pleasure-seeking and leisure.
Miniature Skeleton (-0025/0100) by Unknown artist/makerThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Fragile Bodies on the Margins
Skinny or underweight bodies were also criticized, in part because of the association between emaciation and illness. Thinness could also negatively reflect on one's character.
Ancient authors often noted a person's skinny frame as a way of pointing out their intellectual or social irrelevance.
The association of thinness and powerlessness is sometimes exploited in representations of enslaved individuals, domestic servants, and those otherwise marginalized in society.
On this figurine of a resting youth, the individually shaped ribs might suggest that the figure is undernourished.
Statuette of an Old Woman (-0100/-0001) by Unknown artist/makerThe J. Paul Getty Museum
In depictions of older individuals, such as this statuette of an old woman, underweight features are often used to indicate frailty.
Statuette of an Old Woman (4000 px) (-0100/-0001) by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Such subjects were popular in the Hellenistic period (c. 330-31 BC) —a time of unprecedented social inequality — and consciously aestheticized:
"When we see emaciated people we are distressed, but we look upon statues and paintings of them with pleasure, because imitation, as such, is attractive to the mind's nature."
- Plutarch, Quaestiones convivales 5.1.
Size and Gender
Body fat was also linked to gender, especially in the Roman Empire. While bodies of women were routinely criticized by Roman authors, fluctuation in weight did not render them less feminine. By contrast, both fat and skinny men were explicitly mocked as effeminate, lacking either physical strength or stamina.
Biographies of unpopular Roman emperors often weaponize their body size in this way. Of the emperor Galba, the biographer Suetonius writes, "it is said that he was a heavy eater," immediately before turning to rumors about his inclinations towards "unnatural desires."
Such fat-shaming seems not to have mattered to the emperors themselves. Their official portraits show little concern for concealing the fullness of their faces.
Torso of a Cuirassed Statue Torso of a Cuirassed Statue (A.D. 81–96) by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum
The situation may have been different in military affairs. The anxieties Roman men felt about their bodies can be seen in their choice of armor. Their bronze breastplates were decorated with chiseled pectorals and washboard abs, creating the illusion of a skin-tight fit.
Cuirass and Helmet Cuirass and Helmet (late 4th century B.C.) by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum
It is unlikely that such breastplates were meant to deceive, any more than the fat suits of comic actors. What they offered to their wearers was the illusion of inhabiting — for a moment — the ideal body of a Polykleitan statue.
Bowl with a Medallion Depicting Dionysos and Ariadne (-0100) by Unknown artist/makerThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Divine Softness
A closer look at ancient art reveals that the bodies of gods were sometimes less harshly judged than those of mortals.
Depictions of certain gods regularly focus on the softer parts of their bodies.
The maker of this Hellenistic silver medallion went out of their way to show the curvy bodies of the wine god Dionysus and his wife Ariadne, engraving lines under their bellies to highlight the sensuality of their encounter.
Some popular representations of the love goddess Venus, such as the so-called "Crouching Venus" type, unquestionably emphasize the fleshiness of her body.
Statue of a Crouching Venus Statue of a Crouching Venus (A.D. 100–150) by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Modern observers have highlighted the positive associations between fleshiness and fertility expressed by a variety of Greek and Roman authors, but there is more to the story.
The rolls of flesh on the goddess's belly also gave the ancient sculptor a means of creating a very intimate encounter between viewer and goddess.
To ancient viewers of all ages and genders, accustomed to seeing gods represented solemn and upright, the crouching pose allowed a glimpse into the goddess's private world.
The crouching goddess seemed more approachable to worshippers, in part because her body moved in ways they could recognize from their own lived experience. The softness of Venus’s body made the cold, hard marble come to life.
© 2023 J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles
To cite this exhibition, please use: "In the Flesh: Body Fat in Ancient Art" published online in 2023 via Google Arts & Culture, Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
