Three large—the arm, the loin, the limb.
Three fine—the fingers, the hair, the lips.
Three small—the bust, the nose, the head.
Grecian and American Standards
What are the measurements of the physically perfect man? Opinions differ. Ralph Rose, a young athlete from the University of Michigan, has been brought forward and presented to critical inspection as a fair type of the perfect athlete, according to the practical American anthropometric system of averages, and therefore it may be of interest to compare him with the ideal of youthful strength and beauty of classic art, as shown in the statue of the Apollo Belvedere. A glance at the subjoined table where the measurements of young Rose are set over against those of a model of the Apollo of like height—that is, 77 inches, or 6 feet 5 inches—shows how far the college chart standard differs from the ideal of the Greek artist.
| ROSE. | APOLLO. | |
|---|---|---|
| Inches. | Inches. | |
| Breadth of shoulders | 18.8 | 22.8 |
| Breadth of chest | 13.4 | 15.4 |
| Depth of Chest | 10.0 | 11.3 |
| Girth of neck | 15.9 | 16.8 |
| Girth of chest | 44.5 | 38.0 |
| Girth of waist | 39.0 | 32.0 |
| Right upper arm | 14.0 | 14.3 |
| Left upper arm | 13.6 | 14.3 |
| Right forearm | 12.6 | 12.9 |
| Left forearm | 12.1 | 12.9 |
| Right thigh | 23.9 | 25.4 |
| Left thigh | 25.6 | 24.5 |
| Right calf | 16.8 | 17.0 |
| Left calf | 17.0 | 16.8 |
The measurements of the Apollo Belvedere’s limbs correspond in a general way with those of the American athlete, but in some particulars Rose falls somewhat short of the Greek divinity. Rose’s shoulders are 4 inches narrower, his chest 5 inches less from side to side and 1.3 inches less through. His neck, too, measures nearly an inch less around.
This shows that Rose’s figure and development are far from the Greek ideal. He is not so clean cut. His shoulders are much narrower and his waist larger. His chest shows larger to the tape, but this is due to the big breast and shoulder muscles that enable him to throw the weights. If the Greek god could put off his marble solidity and blow on a lung tester he would reveal far greater lung capacity than could the young American. The measurements from breastbone to backbone and from side rib to side rib tell the true story of chest capacity.
The Venus de Medici a Questionable Type
This famous statue, when found in the seventeenth century in the Villa of Hadrian, near Tivoli, was broken into eleven pieces; only the hands and a portion of the arms were wanting. It was taken to Florence by Cosmo de Medici, and placed in the tribune of the Uffizi.