<P> Pliny the Elder, after having described the sculpture of the classical period notes: Cessavit deinde ars ("then art disappeared"). According to Pliny's assessment, sculpture declined significantly after the 121st Olympiad (296--293 BC). A period of stagnation followed, with a brief revival after the 156th (156--153 BC), but with nothing to the standard of the times preceding it . </P> <P> During this period sculpture became more naturalistic, and also expressive; there is an interest in depicting extremes of emotion . On top of anatomical realism, the Hellenistic artist seeks to represent the character of his subject, including themes such as suffering, sleep or old age . Genre subjects of common people, women, children, animals and domestic scenes became acceptable subjects for sculpture, which was commissioned by wealthy families for the adornment of their homes and gardens; the Boy with Thorn is an example . </P> <P> Realistic portraits of men and women of all ages were produced, and sculptors no longer felt obliged to depict people as ideals of beauty or physical perfection . The world of Dionysus, a pastoral idyll populated by satyrs, maenads, nymphs and sileni, had been often depicted in earlier vase painting and figurines, but rarely in full - size sculpture . The drunk woman at Munich portrays without reservation an old woman, thin, haggard, clutching against herself her jar of wine . </P> <P> The period is therefore notable for its portraits: One such is the Barberini Faun of Munich, which represents a sleeping satyr with relaxed posture and anxious face, perhaps the prey of nightmares . The Belvedere Torso, the Resting Satyr, the Furietti Centaurs and Sleeping Hermaphroditus reflect similar ideas . </P>

A major difference between classical greek art and the art of the hellenistic era was