Greek Classical Sculpture

Pitcher (oinochoe) with Greek warrior attacking Persian archer, Greek Classical, c. 450 BCE
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Greek Classical period began after the Greek victory over the Persians in the 5th century
BCE

During the Persian Wars (499-479 BCE) the Persian Empire sought to expand its control of
Greek territories

Tyrrhenic amphora, c. 560 BCE, Staatliche Antikensammlungen
Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amphora_phalanx_Staatliche_Antikensammlungen_1429.jpg
The Greek city states, who had often been at war with one another, put aside their
differences and banded together to defeat their common foe

The movie 300 is about the famous battle at Thermopylae, when King Leonidas of Sparta and
300 of his men held a pass for three days

Persian Warriors from the Palace of Darius at Susa
Pergamon Museum, Berlin
The Greeks were vastly outnumbered by the Persian army, which was highly trained and
heavily armed

But in the end, the Greeks prevailed – and they regarded their victory in universalizing terms

They believed their victory could be attributed to their cultural and moral superiority over
the Persians, whom they regarded as “barbarian”
Greek hoplite:
Fights in the
nude to reveal
his physical
perfection and
implied moral
superiority
Persian warrior:
Wears clothing
that identifies
his “otherness”

The victory over the Persians marked the beginning of the Classical period, when a new
sense of self-identity and cultural superiority gave rise to an extraordinary flowering of art
and culture

Achievements of the Classical period include the great plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles,
Euripides, the philosophy of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and the establishment of the very first
democracy in history in Athens, under the leadership of the statesman Pericles

And in art, the static formulas of the Archaic period gave way to a new naturalism that
expressed a renewed confidence in Humanist values through the celebration of the nude
male body

Kritios Boy, c. 480 BCE
Marble, 2’ 10”
Acropolis Museum
This statue, known as the Kritios Boy, was found in the acropolis in Athens and is one of the
earliest examples of the new Classical style

Kritios Boy, c. 480 BCE
Marble, 2’ 10”
Acropolis Museum
For the first time, the human figure is represented in a natural pose – called thecontrapposto
pose

This was a dramatic break with the rigid frontal pose of Archaic Kouros statues, where the
hips, shoulders, and arms aligned to an invisible grid, and the weight is distributed evenly on
both legs

In the contrapposto pose the weight shifts to one leg, causing the hips to tilt, and the
shoulders to tilt in the opposing direction as the figure turns just slightly to his right
Weight-
bearing
leg
Hips tilt
Slight
twist to
the
upper
body

The pose is much more natural and relaxed, and gives the figure a human vitality that was
lacking in the unnaturally rigid statues of the Archaic period

The anatomy is also much more sophisticated, with a much subtler handling of muscle
groups – and a serene expression has replaced the artificial “Archaic smile”

As J.J. Pollitt explains, the result is a figure that has literally “come to life”:
“As you look at . . . any kouros in a museum, it will seem to look past you. By contrast,
the “Kritios Boy” . . . seems as if he might turn and ask you a question . . . . It seems
conscious of its surroundings and faced with alternatives which ask for judgment and
decision. In short, it seems to live and think.”
J.J. Pollitt, Art and Experience in Classical Greece, p. 17-18

While Greek Archaic art had produced the “idea” of the human form, Greek Classical artists
were the first to evoke the impression of a living presence – the human individual, capable of
movement and thought

The Kritios Boy is an idealized representation of what Greek society valued: he is youthful,
physically fit, mentally composed, and fully engaged with the world around him

Image source: http://watchfit.com/exercise/upper-body-workout-for-men/
The Greeks admired physical fitness, much as we do today

Stele relief depicting a wrestling competition between athletes, from Kerameikos necropolis, Athens, Grece, Circa 510
Greek athletes competed in the nude, and training for Olympic competitions was a form of
military training

Stele relief depicting a wrestling competition between athletes, from Kerameikos necropolis, Athens, Grece, Circa 510
But it was also a means of achieving the “body beautiful” – the Greeks believed in “self-
improvement through physical exercise and education

Athletes were celebrities in Greek culture, as they are in our own society
Derek Jeeter
Image source: http://muzul.com/celebrity/derek-jeter/

Michael Jordan
Image source: http://www.espn.com/chicago/photos/gallery/_/id/8932812/image/1/best-best-michael-jordan-50-greatest-moments
Because athletes embody the Humanist ideal of what humans are capable of achieving

Greek Classical sculpture reflected these values in its focus on youthful, athletically fit young
men

Polykleitos, Doryphoros, Roman copy
450-440 BCE 6’ 11”
Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples
This statue by the renowned Athenian sculptor Polykleitos is called the Doryphoros, which is
Greek for “spear-bearer”

450-440 BCE 6’ 11”
The statue was created to commemorate an Olympic champion in the spear-throwing
competition

450-440 BCE 6’ 11”
Statues such as these were created as “trophies” to acknowledge an athlete’s achievement

The man represented is neither a god nor a king – rather, he is an ordinary citizen who
embodies the humanist ideal of what any free individual is capable of achieving

Like the Kritios boy, the figure is standing
in the contrapposto pose, with his weight
shifted to one leg, and his hips and
shoulders tilting in opposite directions
Weight-
bearing
leg
Hips tilt
Slight
twist to
the
upper
body
Relaxed leg

The figure turns just slightly, rather than facing rigidly forward, and his left arm is relaxed
while his right arm is raised to hold a spear

While only tentative in the Kritios boy, Polykleitos’ statue represents a full mastery of the
contrapposto pose, and was copied for centuries to come

Fragments of a marble statue of the Diadoumenos, attributed to
Polykleitos; Roman copy of a Greek orginal, c. 69-96 CE
Metropolitan Museum
This is another statue representing an athlete that is attributed to Polykleitos (and is now in
the Metropolitan Museum)

Fragments of a marble statue of the Diadoumenos, attributed to
Polykleitos; Roman copy of a Greek orginal, c. 69-96 CE
Metropolitan Museum
He is called the Diadoumenos, and it represents a youth tying a fillet around his head after a
victory in an Olympic competition

The figure is standing in the Classical contraposto pose, and like the Doyrphoros he is
youthful, physically fit – and drop-dead gorgeous!

Which brings us to the topic of Greek idealism

As lifelike as Greek Classical sculptures appear to be, they were not meant to be actual
“portraits”

Instead, they depicted “idealized” figures that embodied Greek ideals of physical and mental
perfection

Most humans are not “perfect” in reality
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Some achieve it, but even celebrities rely on help from personal trainers, make-up artists, plastic
surgeons, and photographers
Channing Tatum
Image source: https://www.thecut.com/2016/08/what-will-channing-tatum-look-like-as-a-merman.html

Idealism in art is kind of like a photo-shopped version of reality

The Greeks believed that ideal beauty could be derived from mathematically conceived
measurements and proportions

The sculptor Poylkleitos published a treatise on art called “The Canon” in which he presented
what he believed to be the ideal proportions for the “perfect” male body

The treatise is now lost, but ancient historians tell us that he made a sculpture to
demonstrate -- and the Doryphoros is believed to be that demonstration piece

Polykleitos’ canon was different from the Egyptian Canon of Proportions, in that it was not
based on a grid, or on fixed measurements

Instead, it was based on proportional relationships between parts of the body

In this illustration we see that the torso of the figure on the left is too long; and the proportions
of the figure on the right are equally off, with the torso being too short, and the legs too long

But the figure in the center seems to be “just right” – and this is the set of perfect proportional
relationships that Polykleitos set out in his canon

But the proportions of the figure in the center are “just right” – and this is the set of perfect
proportional relationships that Polykleitos set out to achieve

His statue was meant to represent an “ideal” of the Olympic champion – an image of
perfection in both body and mind that we can all aspire to attain

Reconstruction, by Georg Roemer, of the 3rd century BC Greek bronze
Doryphoros, or 'Spear bearer', of Polykeitos of Argos. 1920-21
The original statue of the Doryphoros was actually made of bronze, and is now lost (this photo is
of a reconstruction that was created in the 1920s)

Bronze can be melted down and re-used for other purposes, and many ancient statues were “re-
cycled” in this way over the centuries

440 BCE 6’ 11”, Minneapolis Institute of Art
450-440 BCE 6’ 11”
So even though Polykleitos was the most famous sculptor of the Classical period, all we have
left of his work is Roman copies that were made after the Romans conquered Greece

Greek Gallery, Metropolitan Museum of Art
In fact, MOST of what we know abut Greek art comes from Roman copies, rather than originals
– which makes it confusing when you visit the Greek Galleries at the Metropolitan Museum;
most of the statues are Roman copies, and you have to read the label to determine if you are
looking at an original or a copy

But bronze was the favored medium of Greek Classical sculptors, mainly because the figure
could be free-standing, and did not require intrusive supports

The tree stump that you see on this Roman
copy is actually holding the statue up -- and
the bridge between his wrist and hip is there
to keep the arm from breaking off

The original bronze did not require these
supports – the figure could stand entirely on
its own, and engage with the world around it

Some rare examples of original Greek bronzes survive
Warriors from the Sea off Riace, 460-450 BCE, 6’ 6” high; Museio
Archeologico Nazionales, Reggio, Calabria

The Riace bronzes were found off the coast of Riace Italy in 1972, and are believed by some
experts to be authentic 5th century originals (though some contend they were made at a later
date)

The statues depict two warriors, with accessories such as helmets, spears, and shields that did
not survive

The figures are standing in the Classical contraposto pose, and conform fairly closely to the
Polykleitan canon

They are youthful, and physically fit – the epitome of what all male Greek citizens aspired to be

The heads are remarkably detailed, with copper inlay for details such as the lips, and inset eyes

Bronze casting made it possible to explore the figure in action
Bronze statue of Zeus from Artemesion c. 460 BCE
National Archaeological Museum, Athens
Image source: John McGraw

Wikimedia
This bronze statue represents the Greek god Zeus, or possibly Poseidon, depending upon
whether he was originally holding a lightning bolt or a trident

Wikimedia
This bronze statue represents the Greek god Zeus (or possibly Poseidon) in a “warrior pose” as
he is about to throw his lightning bolt (or trident, if it is Poseidon)

Wikimedia
He is standing in a “warrior pose” with his arms stretched wide, as he is about to hurl his
weapon

Wikimedia
This kind of “open pose” could never have been accomplished if the figure was carved from
stone – the arms would have required bridges to support them, or they would have broken off

Wikimedia
Warrior from the Sea off Riace, 460-450 BCE, 6’ 6” high; Museio
The other thing that is extraordinary about this statue is that it represents a god, but there is
nothing to differentiate him from humans

He does not wear a crown, or animal attributes, nor does he tower over his human subjects

Wikimedia
Warrior from the Sea off Riace, 460-450 BCE, 6’ 6” high; Museio
This is, in many ways the essence of Greek Humanism: the gods were conceived as human, and
humans had the capacity to achieve the same beauty and grandeur possessed by the gods

Myron, Diskobolos (Discus Thrower)
Roman copy of Bronze original 5’ 1”
With the discovery of bronze casting, Greek Classical sculptors pushed even further in their
exploration of the human figure in action

This statue, by the Greek sculptor Myron, commemorates another Olympic champion, and
captures the moment before he throws the heavy discus

The original was made of bronze, so it would not have had the intrusive supporting pillar

What is extraordinary is how the sculptor has successfully expressed a sense of movement in
the figure

He did this by depicting the athlete at the height of his movement (much like the upward swing
of a pendulum clock)

So a sense of movement is implied because we mentally complete the action by following the
arc of the swing

SUMMARY: Greek art evolves towards increasing naturalism in the representation of the
human form
Greek Archaic Greek Archaic Greek Classical Greek Classical

SUMMARY: The discovery of the contraposto pose was a major breakthrough, because it
enabled sculptors to portray the human figure as “alive” and actively engaging in the
world around them
Greek Archaic Greek Archaic Greek Classical Greek Classical

SUMMARY: The discovery of bronze as a medium was another breakthrough, because it
enabled the exploration of a great variety of active “open” poses that did not require
supports

SUMMARY: Greek sculptors did not distinguish between gods and men, expressing the
humanist belief that men could be equal to the gods

SUMMARY: this is a dramatic departure from ancient art, where the gods towered over
men, and where individuals were portrayed as anonymous subjects serving their god or
king

SUMMARY: and finally, Greek art always focused on the ideal: men who were youthful,
physically fit, and mentally composed

SUMMARY: These were the “super-heroes” of Greek society – the warriors and athletes
who had achieved what all Greek citizens aspired to be

Women
Female statues become more
naturalistic, but remain clothed
Statue of Athena Parthenos (the Virgin Goddess) Roman copy of the
colossal statue of Athena, c. 438 BCE Museum of Fine Arts Boston

Women
Amazons – mythical race of warrior
women
Statue of a wounded Amazon, Roman copy of a Greek bronze statue, ca.
450–425B.C. Metropolitan Museum

Greek Archaic
Archaic smile
Rigid frontal pose
Unnatural anatomy +
proportions
Stylized details
Marble

Greek Classical
Serene expression
(“mask of calm reserve”)
More natural pose --
contraposto
More naturalistic
anatomy + proportions
Bronze

Greek Archaic
Archaic smile
Rigid frontal pose
Unnatural anatomy +
proportions
Stylized details
Marble
Greek Classical
Serene expression (“mask of calm
reserve”)
More natural pose -- contraposto
More naturalistic anatomy +
proportions
Bronze

Greek Classical Sculpture

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