Greek Art in the Classical Age
Greek art is thought to have reached its peak during the Classical period in the fifth century B.C.E. Leading up to this period, the most common type of sculpture were the kouroi, which were life-size or larger marble statues of nude males that stood on sacred sites, often as grave markers, but also as offerings to the gods. With very stiff, straight poses(they evidently were modeled after Egyptian statues), it is clear that kouroi were not intended to look like real people. However, by the early fifth century, the style of Greek artwork changed. The transition is usually symbolized by the Kritios Boy, a marble statue found in the center of ancient Athens and attributed to Kritios, a sculptor active in Athens around 490-460 B.C.E. It is dated by experts to just before 480 B. C.E. and represents Callias a victor in the boys’ footrace in an athletic competition.The changes from the traditional kouros are slight, but the boy is standing as a boy might actually stand, the right leg forward of the left, which bears the weight of the body so that the right can relax slightly not how artistic convention decrees a hero should pose. Yet this naturalness is achieved without the loss of an idealization (representation as perfect) of the human body. Here is, in the words of the art historian Kenneth Clark. “the first beautiful nude in art.”As John Boardman, an authority on Greek art, puts it: “This is a vital novelty in the history of ancient art-life deliberately observed, understood, and copied. After this all becomes possible.”
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