The cartoon that I have used as my theme today is rather (well, very) tongue-in-cheek. There is, however, a very strong connection with Irene Mawer, as the statue shown in the cartoon is very similar to a famous statue called the Discobolus.
The English translation of Discobolus is Discus Thrower, and the original statue was made by the Greek sculptor Myron, at the beginning of the Classical period of Ancient Greece (5th and 4th Centuries BC/BCE).
The original statue has been lost, but we know it through many reproductions. It depicts a naked, male athlete – about to throw a discus. Or at least, that is what it appears to be. Many scholars, though, have pointed out that the stance of the man is incorrect for someone to be throwing a discus, or at least, it isn’t the modern way to throw it.
Viewers seem to gloss over that fact, and instead, marvel at how the sculptor has managed to capture a moment of intense motion in the moments before actually releasing the discus. The statue manages to convey movement in a way that was as admired in the ancient days as it is today.
So, why would this naked athlete be of such importance to Irene Mawer and Ruby Ginner. Well, of course, they based many of their views on the tenets of Ancient Greece and this statue represents many of the Greek ideals such as athleticism, proportion, harmony and balance, beauty, and the connection between a healthy body and a sound mind.
The human body was of the utmost importance to both Miss Mawer and Miss Ginner, and the realistic anatomy of this statue, with its sense of controlled power and movement, would have spoken to them. The statue also has a serene, emotionless expression on the face – Ginner-Mawer would have accepted serenity while performing incredible athletic dancing, but I doubt they would have accepted an emotionless expression for their pupils.
Miss Mawer would have agreed with the importance of the athletic ideal and the importance of sports in ancient Greek culture. The Discobolus embodies the Greek value of kalos kagathos, which means “beautiful and good,” and represents the harmony between physical beauty and moral virtue.
So, presumably for all of the above reasons, this is why Miss Mawer and Miss Ginner chose the symbol of the Discobolus as the emblem for the Ginner-Mawer School of Dance and Drama.