Arcésilas

Arcésilas (Greek Ἀρκεσίλαος / Arkesilaus) was a Greek sculptor of the Hellenistic period (1st century BC). His exact dates of birth and death are unknown.

His life is little known. Pliny the Elder described him as a friend of Lucullus and mentions that he sculpted Centaurs and Nymphes commissioned by Gaius Asinius Pollio, Venus Genetrix, commanded by Julius Caesar and installed at the Forum of Caesar in Rome, and a lioness with marble Cupids playing around, property of Marcus Terentius Varro. He was famous for selling the plaster models of his works for more money than the finished statues.

References

• Pliny the Elder, Natural History [Retail Editions], XXXV, 155; also XXXVI, 33 and 41
• Marion Muller-Dufeu, Greek Sculpture. Literary and epigraphic sources, Paris, Editions de l'École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, coll. "Fine Arts History", 2002 (ISBN 2-84056-087-9), p. 928-931, our 2804-2806.