Doryphoros Essay

I think about how the world had betrayed this women. They made this woman plump and empty, she does not even have a face. This statue is nude showing everything to the naked eye, she does not have a desirable body. This sculpture shows how much a woman was respected back in the day, which was very little.

The overall all renditions are block-like and sculpted with geometric reduction of details. The anatomy is made up of planes, completely symmetrical. The hair, ears, and eyes have been reduced to simple shapes – again, all identically symmetrical. Kouros is depicted nude, symbolic of Archaic Greece's emphasis on the ideal individual male and autonomous Greek citizen. In contrast, Aphrodite is a considerably large female (7 feet tall and substantially wider than the Kouros). Given the larger than real-life scale, this statue probably served as a cult image in a temple. The statue's excellent state of conservation also suggests that it was kept indoors. It is free standing but also in an anatomical, not just mechanical sense. The pose is full and rounded, not solely frontal. You get a sense of the body being relaxed, with one hand extended in a gesture that gives a sense of it moving forward.

Throughout the history of art, the human body and figure has captivated both artisans and their audiences. This can be said especially of the Greeks and their sculptures. Even from the earliest periods, Greeks motivation for the search of the ideal human body can be seen through the sculpture Metropolitan Kouros (c 120-50 BCE), created in the Archaic period and said to be found in Attica, Ancient Greece (Richter 1931, p. 220). However, it is not until High Classical period that they truly achieve their goal with Polykleitos’ The Spear Bearer (c. 120-50 BCE) or the Doryphoros (its Greek name). The sculpture, found in a Palestra in Pompeii, Italy is said to be the epitome of perfection during its period. Although there is exquisite rendering and beauty in both sculptures, there are also a vast number of differences that make each work unique.

This statue is in decent condition given its age but does still have a sufficient amount of damage. We can clearly see that both the right and left arms have been broken off of the body as well as the head. This gives the location of where the arms and head should be a much rougher texture, but that texture was not intentional when the piece was created. The larger base that she is standing on is in much worse condition. It has many cracks and breaks where it has had to be

The Torso of Aphrodite was constructed in the 1st century A.D. and is made entirely of marble. The torso used to belong to a life-sized version statue of The Greek goddess of love Aphrodite. From the moment I saw this piece, I knew I was attracted to it in a deeper way. It

Pentelic marble is used in sculptures as well as architecture. (Seth) The figure is 21 inches tall, 3115/16 inches long. (Art) The object is meant to be viewed from the front. In this piece of sculpture, we see a muscular barrel-chested Greek man centered in the middle with a larger rounded shield next to him, while his right arm placed behind his squared faced head. His full chest muscles carefully polished smoothly and delicately. Based on the warrior’s sinking pose, it has been thought that he is falling to the ground after dealing a mortal blow from behind. The strong, solid linear of the large geometric rounded shield is in contrast to the serpentine, subtle and smooth lines appear on this organic body figure of the warrior. It appears as though the sculpture itself is not painted for the most

The statue shows the God in a good light and as a muscular and fit being, but at the same time is portrayed in an extremely unrealistic way.

The marble statue of Diadoumenos is a copy of the original bronze statue displaying a young man tying a fillet around his head. The original was created in c.a. 430 B.C. by a man called Polykleitos of Argos. Polykleitos was a Greek sculptor who worked during the mid-fifth century B.C. . he was one of the most famous artists of the ancient world. Polykleitos' figures are carefully designed with special attention to bodily proportions and stance. The statue of Diadoumenos has its thorax and pelvis tilt in opposite directions, setting up rythmic contrasts in the torso that create an impression of organic vitality. The position of the feet, (poised between walking and standing), give a sense of potential movement.

It is a very large piece made from Limestone. Limestone is a sedimentary rock which means it is formed by the accumulation of sediments, and it is very hard. The statue itself is not very detailed and is pretty simplistic. It is a statue of a human body. The statue is 71 in. (180.4 cm) which is

The statues were often created with what was known as an Archaic smile. Inventions were

Doryphoros by Polykleitos was originally a Greek bronze made around 450-40B.C. The only way we can see it today is through the Roman marble copies (which is common of many Greek statues.) Some supports had to be added for the change in material, resulting in the addition of the form resembling a tree trunk, the support on the left foot, and the small bar bridging the gap between his right wrist and hip. Doryphoros was originally holding a spear in his left hand; appropriate, given that his name means, literally, “spear-bearer.” The sculpture is a well-known and early example of classical Greek contrapposto (the shifting of weight onto one leg and off-axis shoulders and arms.) One leg nearly appears to be lifting off the ground, giving the

When examining the statue, there is an old woman bent and weary. Her posture helps clue us in, with her age and the state of her health. The figure is dressed in cloth that drapes off her body as she carries a basket that is filled with what we may think are offerings. On her head, there are vines that create a band around the top of her head used to signify the festival that was going on during that time. The specific detail that is seen on this statue persuades us to want to know the story of this woman. Doing so, the process involves lots of research about the time and art. During the hellenistic period, artists begin to introduce more inner beauty than physical beauty. There is an opportunity to learn more about the structure itself, then settle for what is given and seen.

Polykleitos had a very profound mathematical background, which laid the foundation for his artistic thinking. He resided by the idea that beauty coincides with harmonious numerical ratios (eventually developing canon). By his reasoning, a perfect statue would be one constructed according to an all-encompassing mathematical formula. A definitively “successful” statue resulted from these precise applications of abstract principles.

This meant careful observation of the model, as well as understanding the mechanics of the human body and, how a body adjusts to a pose which isn’t frontal but with the weight shifted to a side of the body, and how said body behaves in violent motion. The successors, mainly athlete figures, are shown regularly 'at ease', with one leg relaxed, with a shift in the shoulders, and the contrasts of rigid and relaxed in parts of the body. As a result, the sculptors of the era created marvelous statues of Gods such as Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, and many more. The Statues weren’t all Gods; in fact, some statues were of youths standing in ways that depicted them attempting to grab objects and others simply raising their hands in

but more so her fertility. Not only do the hydra and drapery help the statue to stand, function