Kritios Boy Essay

The Greeks’ increased confidence after defeating Persian invaders in 480 BCE is recognized in the artwork of that time. Sculptures evolved from rigid, less lifelike structures to more relaxed and humanlike works, typically evoking self-confidence. The work “Kritios” Boy exemplifies this shift. Assumed to be the work of the Greek sculptor Kritios, “Kritios” Boy was created at the close of the Persian wars. I love how realistic this piece and others like it appear in comparison to the Kouroi before it. These sculptures are visibly relaxed and confident, perfectly emulation the Greek attitude of that era. The way the statue’s weight appears to be shifted onto one leg is the most significant factor in presenting the “Kritios” Boy as self-confident.

Most Pateras have either a naked or clothed figures, or just a figure less handle. This artifact depicts a naked Kouros which in Greek means young man. Kouroi who are often naked are symbolized as gods, warriors, and athletes. (Cothren, Michael W & Stokstad Marilyn p.107.). Thus this choice of handle was especially suited to such a sacred object. (Vassilika, Eleni 19). The figure of a nude Kouros depicted in the pan is around five inches tall. While his legs are together with his feet pointed downwards. The figure has both of his hands in the air flexed holding two rams. On either side of him there is ram kneeling on all fours. The rams hold up the shallow pan with their heads. The rams look like they could be babies because of how small their bodies are. The inclusion of rams in Archaic period art was very common (Sturgeon, Mary.C 46). The Kouros body appears naturalistic, reason being is because he does not have much muscle definition except for a little in his thighs, pecs, back, and arms for when he is raising the rams. The artist stayed true to the youth aspect by doing this. Not many young men have giant muscles and six packs, which is why the artist kept the figures body thin. The artist close attention to the outline of the nipples, navel, feet, buttocks and the details of the Kouros genitals really brings the figure to life. The Kouros hair is stylized with vertical lines

The Kouros from Tenea is a figure based on anatomical perfection as perceived by the Greeks. The figure is standing in a contrapposto free-standing sculpture that looks as if he’s a walking being. It’s slender build and pronounced muscles exemplify it as a nude statue around 5’3 feet tall in comparison to my own height. The figure displays a protruding chest and collarbone bringing about it’s very symetrical and geometric qualities. It’s an idealistic view of a young man in the mid-sixth century B.C. The figure is standing on a square plaster base limiting its movement any further but creating a balance. The sculptor held this figure suspended in time as it is grounded on to the base. This creates a sense of eternal youth as it’s facial features and anatomical details do not have any marked characteristics of old age.

2. The Menkaure and a queen sculpture is standing against a wall or post. Its sculpted on black stone. The king is standing stiffly and expressionless with his wife holding him while walks forward. The king and queen step with their left foot forward. His hands are clenched and is wearing only a skirt. He also wears a hat. The sculpture seems smooth. The Metropolitan Kouros sculpture is free standing and is made of a beige colored stone. He is naked with his left foot forward as well. Kouros muscles and body parts are detailed in the sculpture. His hands are clenched and he is emotionless. His hair looks like dread locks.

Though more life size and naturalistic depictions would come from the influence of Egyptian art, attributed to the work of legendary artist Daedalus who had worked on sculpture within the country and brought the ideas and style of statuary back (111). This marked the beginning of the Archaic age, which was not only monumental for its change in how the figure stood but also how it was depicted and how the shape of the human figure evolved (112-113). A good comparison of this can be made between the New York Kouros, dated ca. 600 BCE, and the Anavysos Kouros, dated ca. 530 BCE. The New York Kouros is an early example of life size statuary, standing at 6 feet 1/2 an inch, body positioned with stiff posture of the head and shoulders with the left foot slightly advanced. The stance is that of Egyptian statuary, and this similarity is passed to the Anavysos Kouros, created nearly a century later, as well (112). With the exception of stance, size, sex and nudity of the statue, the similarities between the two statues end. The Anavysos Kouros takes a much more

In the Archaic Age, beauty is sought by the citizens of Greece all throughout the various forms of artistic expression. For example, Greek sculptures before the Archaic Age were widely influenced by the mesopotamians and egyptians, with rigid postures and ceremonious gestures. However, in the Archaic Age, we see a little more change throughout the art of sculpting in Greece. Greek sculptors began incorporating lively, athletic, and healthy attributes to the work of art, such as the “Anavysos Kouros,” (page 52) a Greek korari sculpture based by the Archaic Age. Health and beauty in art was commenced in the Hellenic Era, almost as much as the religious aspect of the art.

Standing at a small, but significant ten inches, this sculpture is reminiscent of the late Roman portraiture style, but delving into the symbolic expression of the early Byzantine provincial portraiture period. This portrait is from the fifth century, estimated sometime from 400-420 AD. Originally from Syria, Asia by an unknown artist, it currently is held at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and credited to The Putnam Dana McMillan Fund. The elements within this portrait all are noteworthy in the sculpture contributing toward the creation of this artwork. This piece with will be analyzed first from a general overview and then the features moving from the top then moving to the base of the portrait. Due to the Head of a Young Man not being on display, this analysis will be solely from a picture.

This Dusty bronze statue was one of my personal favorites that were made during in 42-20 BCE in the Hellenistic era of Greek art. The statue is a replica of Laocoon and Sons by three sculptures named Polydorus, Hagesander, and Theodoros. The statue of Laocoon and Sons is a perfect example of the Hellenistic era characteristics. The statue is a Perfect at expressing extreme emotion while keeping the realism that Greek art is known for. It was during this sculptures derived from the perfect idea of beauty and in this particular statue, the Agony and the face portray this. When you first look at this statue your eyes are drawn immediately to his body's position in a way that leads you to look at one son the one on the left and while his whole body is positioned outward his face is looking back at his father but it's also at eye level towards his brother who also looks back at his father. This is further emphasized by the vast size of the replica and Ringling Museum when you look at this statue you are looking up upon it you follow the figures form

This was a statue of one of the most influential statues of western art. It was made by the Greeks and it did represent the spear-bearer. It did depict a solid well built, muscled standing athlete that did originally bear a spear that was balanced in his left shoulder. Its other name was Polykleitos and it was a stalwart symbol with humanist beauty. The statue did successfully encapsulate the movement of the human form through an eternally still image. The statue did stand as an everlasting watch that prevented the return of the archaic smiles as well as lifeless kouroi that was in the past (Lapatin 148).

This sculpture is a classic example of the contrapposto stance, with the spear bearer’s weight resting on the extended foot and shifting across his axis naturally. The contrapposto style was a step towards the naturalistic approach of depicting the human figure; however, Polyclitus’s work took a step away from naturalism with his emphasis on his “ideal human.” His body proportions are mathematical, with the head height –from crown to chin- being a half of the shoulder width, which was then a forth of the body’s height. This type of body measurement and proportion was called “the Canon.”

Both Kouros and Menkaure are statues in the round depicting front-facing male figures stepping forward toward the viewer. Both figures are stiff in form with their arms at their sides and fists clenched. Menkaure is made of graywacke and is ancient Egyptian in origin whereas Kouros composed of marble and originates from ancient Greece. Menkaure's stature and posture reflect ancient Egypt's religious beliefs at the time; Egyptian artists depicted their subjects to convey a timeless stability so the subject's ka, or soul, would have an eternal home. This is shown in the fact that even though Menkaure is stepping forward, his weight is not shifted forward on his left foot. His feet also remain completely wedded to the block and there are

We can see the prominence of the muscles with carefully articulated body parts. The artist paid careful attention to human anatomy when creating this statue. He was also sure to follow the idealized body the Hellenistic period with pronounced muscle and large feet. Another convention of the Hellenistic period is how animated he is, with his pose and expression being very dynamic. He is also in good proportion and is accurate to the natural human form. We see that the chest and torso are a little under 2/3rd’s the 50” sculpture. This would make his chest around 30 inches (2 and a half feet) which would be considered average for males making this sculpture life size. The man also has a beard and curly locks of hair. This is the most stylized part of the rendering, as the way the hair is clumped is into sections and is symmetrical on both sides of the head. This choice is likely made because of the difficulty of interpreting hair on a sculpture. Also, the hair is noticeably the only part of the body with an exception to the smooth texture, attracting our eye towards his face. This is because the texture of the beard is made with deep, wavy grooves to show strands of hair. Lastly, on the face, we notice the eye sockets are empty, this is likely due to glass marbles or some other material once filling the

The perfect body symbolizes physical and mental superiority. The Greeks saw classical splendor as liveliness of stance and capturing the body in action. To accomplish the body in action artists used a stance called contrapposto, which means weight- shift. Doryphoros (450-440 B.C.E.) is one example of the contrapposto pose. The statue represents an athlete with his weight forward on one leg. It also shows veins on the posterior of the hands in abundant detail. This sculpture also displays The Canon, which is Polyclitus’ thesis on proportion. To Polyclitus the stature of the head from the crown to the chin happens to be a picture-perfect human

As one continues to trace the history of sexuality and the erotic image leading up to the production of Giulio Romano’s I Modi, a logical stop along the journey would be ancient Greece. As time and space limit the scope of this analysis, direct examples from the art and culture of this region will not be examined. However, the contribution of the Greeks to the art,

The Metropolitan Kouros is a sample of the Greek sculpture that is very spontaneous of the Egyptian statues. The Metropolitan have the stiff arms and stoic face, with a balanced form. I see it as a total original of an Egyptian statue with the feet pattern. The left foot is advancing- demonstrating that there is some time of movement. The next statue is the Kiritos boy, which this statue is very different from the Metropolitan Kouros. The Krittos boy statue is more of a natural style design, which I typically mean naturalistic. The artwork is supported with the body on one leg, while the other leg is bent from the knee in a comforting state.