Ancient Greek Sculpture: Evolution and Masterpieces

Posted on Feb 26, 2025 in Latin

Greek Sculpture

Greek art seeks knowledge of man and, because of this, makes a rational study of the human body and idealized representations. Greek sculpture, in contrast to the Egyptian law which was based on strict and inflexible rules, evolved over time toward naturalism through three periods or stages:

Archaic Stage (7th-6th Centuries BC)

Its most important features are:

  • Represents human figures (naked men and dressed women because the ideal of female beauty at the moment lies in decent attire).
  • They are polychrome stone.
  • Anatomy is precarious and rough.
  • They are viewed from the front, with the left leg forward (under Egyptian influence) and the arms straight at the sides, fists clenched.
  • They outline a slight smile (archaic smile, because all sculptures have it). It is the only feature that provides some naturalness in the figures.
  • Almond-shaped, expressionless eyes.
  • Geometric treatment of hair, in layers, that usually falls symmetrically on both sides of the head.
  • Symmetry.

The best and most abundant examples of such sculptures are kouroi and korai (kouros and kore, singular) of natural size and votive character.

Two famous archaic sculptures are:

  • The Knight Rampin
  • Moscophoros

Classical Stage

It has been divided into two stages:

First Classicism or Severe Style (1st Half of 5th Century BC)

Its features are:

  • Sculptures in bronze, a material allowing them to have arms and legs separated from the body without danger of breaking.
  • Anatomical representation of much higher quality.
  • Movement, representing men who are performing some action. This also requires, sometimes, to lose the law of the front.
  • The faces have lost the archaic smile so appear serious or severe, giving name to the period.

The most representative examples are:

  • Poseidon
  • The Charioteer of Delphi
  • The Discus Thrower by Myron

Full Classicism (2nd Half of 5th Century BC and 4th Century BC)

They are statues that were carved mostly in bronze but today we know them, except in very limited cases, by the many copies that the Romans made to adorn their cities, their gardens or their villages. The classical Greek world is the development of anthropocentric culture: man is most important, everything takes place only for himself. Thus, the objective of classical sculpture is to represent ideal beauty in bodies, perfect satisfaction to contemplate producing. That ideal beauty (exterior and interior) is embodied in symmetry, proportion and harmony.

5th Century BC:

The most famous sculptors were Phidias and Polyclitus.

  • Phidias: The reliefs from the Parthenon are now in the British Museum (London).
  • Polyclitus: Author of Doryphorus, canon of beauty.
4th Century BC:

Athenian democracy is in crisis and with it the concept of idealism linked to harmony, proportion and balance. With regard to formalities, the fees of the sculptures change, the forms become more sensual and the gods are more human.

  • Scopas: Frieze of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
  • Praxiteles: Hermes and the Infant Dionysus, Apollo Sauroctonos, and the Venus of Cnidus, the first female nude in Greek sculpture.
  • Lysippus: Author of Apoxyomenos, a new canon.

Hellenistic Stage (3rd Century BC – 1st Century BC, Roman Conquest)

Aristotle, who died in 322 BC, had a decisive influence on philosophy and Greek culture by contrasting the importance of experience compared to that of ideas (Plato). Moreover, after the conquests of Alexander the Great, there was the emergence of the Hellenistic kingdoms and the interaction between Greek and Oriental cultures.

Both circumstances will favor the emergence of a different culture, replacing the ideal for expressing emotions and reality. In art, realism is imposed (the Corinthian capital, with acanthus leaves, is preferred to Doric and Ionic) and sculpture depicts everyday and anecdotal items, expressions, movements and contrived and artificial compositions.

There are two types of work:

  1. Those that still represent ideal beauty. For example: the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory.
  2. Those that meet the Hellenistic described:
    • Dying Gaul
    • Laocoön and His Sons Devoured by Snakes
    • Altar of Zeus at Pergamon
    • Portraits
    • Children in everyday scenes (Child with a Thorn, Boy with a Goose)
    • The Farnese Bull
    • Allegories (River Nile)