Archaic Sculpture

600-480 BC

Archaic Sculpture

• The Kouros (male) statues dominate the Archaic period of Greek Art– There are Kore (female) statues

• Used as decorations for religious buildings• Artist’s and art patron's names begin to appear

carved on some sculptures• Influence:– Archaic Greek art was influenced by ancient Egypt as

commerce between the two countries flourished.

ARCHAIC SCULPTURE

• Characteristics:– The frontal pose– Left foot extended forward– Arms attached or close to the

hips– Rigid pose– Mysterious smile

Archaic Sculpture• Facts:– Kouros (male) sculptures presented nude– Kore (female) sculptures always clothed– Early archaic sculpture lacks the “smile”– Other characteristics of the Kouroi:• Stocky build• Bearded• Beaded hair style• Greater detail in arms• smile

Archaic Sculpture

• Early Archaic:

Early Archaic, no smile

Early Archaic

Archaic Sculpture• Later Archaic period:– Rampin Horseman (c. 550 BC).– The horseman wears a wreath of wild

celery, the prize awarded to victors in the Crown Games at Isthmia and Nemea.

– The slight incline of the head perhaps represents an early rebellion against the strict bilateral symmetry of the kouroi

– Traces of paint are preserved on the eyes– The number of abdominal striations is

correct, and they are carved more convincingly than before

Archaic Sculpture• Kouros from Anavyssos, Attica

(c. 530 BC) Later Archaic Period– Used as a grave marker

• Inscribed Epitaph: “Stand and pity at the tomb of dead Croesus, whom brutal Ares slew fighting in the front rank of battle”.

• Beaded hairstyle• frontal gaze• archaic smile (though diminished). • Advances: more realistic rendering of

anatomical detail.

Archaic Sculpture• Method:– Sculptor worked almost exclusively with "point" chisels,

punches and stone abrasives to create the statues– As a result of this technique, all marble statues from the

Archaic period have an opaque (not clear) appearance• This is a result of the repeated vertical blows to the surface with a

point chisel which sends concentrated shock waves deep inside the stone, shuttering thus the marble crystals in considerable depth.

• All statues of ancient Greece were in fact painted with vivid colors and the technique of the vertical blows actually keyed the surface for the pigments.