Imagined after Praxiteles
Red panda rearing up on two legs - not a fox but a red panda
After Praxiteles, made 2026-07-27. An AI-imagined work, credited after the artist and grounded in documented technique; not a historical work.
The statement
I have chosen this small creature—not a fox, but the red panda—precisely because it permits me to work in my most natural manner. Pliny records that I worked "most happily in marble," seeking always the surface that could be polished to a skin-soft finish, and this animal's compact form, rearing upright with forepaws raised, gives me that same opportunity I found in the Aphrodite of Knidos to shape flesh into something tender and alive.
The long S-curve I developed in the Apollo Sauroktonos, where "the whole weight cantilevered against the tree," reappears here in the red panda's backbone as it balances on hind legs. I have polished the face and belly to a soft, dewy sheen while leaving the fur rough, so light plays differently across the body—the same contrast I achieved in the Hermes, where "torso and face polished" stood against "hair and drapery left deliberately rough."
What I ask the viewer to feel is what my Hermes offered: not heroic exertion but reverie, a moment of unstrained calm. This small creature, caught mid-gesture, embodies the gentle affection and effortless grace that, according to ancient testimony, made my works sought after across the world.
Make your own
Ask Praxiteles for a picture of your own · About Praxiteles · The gallery