Preview

Kouros Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1329 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Kouros Analysis
Kouros is a marble statue from an unknown artist. The 6’ 4” statue is from the Archaic Period in Greece, and currently located at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, New York. The representational, closed statue shows a naked man. His hair is a little longer than shoulder length, and has his arms at his side, fists clenched. His left foot is in front of the other. The entire statue is on a square marble base. This is a representational styled statue showing a Greek man roughly from 600 BCE. From this statue, symmetry, lines, repetition, and proportion can be detected. The most obvious art element seen is symmetrical balance. The statue is vertically symmetrical . If you were to cut the statue in half, starting at the top of its …show more content…
The shape of the face may differ, but the smile will always be the same. The sculpture could be of a warrior dying, but they would still have the smile. The last attribute is naturalism. The Greeks loved naturalism, especially in the human body. They loved the beauty of nature, but they loved idealism as well. So they made a realistic person, but they would be in the best possible condition. Kouros is an athlete, so they made them appear in the most quintessential manner possible. Even though the Archaic period is not realistic as possible, it is a major upgrade to the previous period, the Geometric period. The Geometric period was Ancient Greece in 900 to 700 BCE. This period is called the Geometric period due to the art works having geometric shapes. They were made up of simple shapes, such as squares, triangles, and ovals. The men had sharp, triangular torsos, and oval legs. The hair were cylinders, and the arms were thick lines, with no definition. They were very open, meaning that there were plenty of spaces between parts of the sculpture. The arms were away from the torso, the feet separated. The Archaic period greatly increased its realism in art, but the Greeks

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    By comparing the two sculptures of Khafre, image 3-11 ca. 2520-2494 BCE (1), with the statue of Doryphoros (Spear Bearer), image 5-40 ca. 450-440 BCE (2) you get a true sense of the evolution of art, from Pharaonic Egypt to Classical Athenian Greece two millennia later. This was not just a revolution in art but also philosophy, which transported itself into not only the types sculptures created but also the style used by their creators.…

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kritios was an Athenian sculptor, whose style and technique during the late archaic period helped revolutionize the archaic period into the Classical period. He has two main statutes that I am going to examine the first of which being the Kritios boy. Also referred to as “the first beautiful nude art” it is very important as it is a precursor to the later classical sculptures. It depicts a young boy in an idea form (so sculpted in the nude if they where in the ideal form) and is possibly a reflection of the Athenian cultural obsession with Pederasty. Yet it is more important in the sense that it smashes the Korous pose. The Kritios boy is so important as Kritios has mastered a complete understanding of how the different parts of the body act together, the statue supports the weight on the left leg meaning that the right one is bent at the knee and relaxed, and forces a chain of events as the pelvis is pushed diagonally upwards on the left side this causes the right buttock to relax and the spine to be placed in an “S” shaped curve causing…

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Each of the blocks that establish this piece had to be placed just so in order to create balance so the entire statue does not topple over. At the same time, by using counterbalancing weight, the blocks in the back of the statue were able to lift the front of the prow so it appeared more realistic. The drapery created upon this figure is so realistic. It is crafted to make the pieces look nearly transparent over the navel and the left thigh, but billowing at the hips and over the right leg; I believe this is another artistic feat. This depiction of Victory seems to be as though she is landing on the ship, with her body gliding forward and her wings pulling backward.…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Successful sculptural forms are created through careful attention to common artistic elements and techniques. In order to discover an artist’s intentions while looking at a sculptural piece, it is vital to note the artist’s visual cues. Such visual cues may include form, shape, texture, material, lighting, space, and dynamism. In addition, classical sculpture is commonly comprised of well-balanced idealized forms, with a sense of naturalistic beauty and elegance in mind. Great sculpture also must convey a strong sense of gracefulness and stability. The Lansdowne Bust of Athena of Velletri very successfully exhibits artistic qualities and sculptural…

    • 951 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Pueblo Maiden Essay

    • 1076 Words
    • 5 Pages

    At the Montclair Art Museum, located in the Rand Gallery of Native American Art, there is a tall statue made of Bronze and Jetulong wood, standing tall behind a glass case, called Pueblo Maiden. The figure is long and lean, and towers over many of the other artifacts in the gallery. The bronze color of the figure is constant throughout the sculpture. The head is small and round. The hairstyle is short and square shaped. It is similar to a women’s “bob” hairstyle with bangs that covers the figures forehead and ears. The surface of sculpture is smooth. The face features two indentations which look like closed eyes and a rectangle shape for the nose but there is no indentation for a mouth. The head of the figure rests on a narrow shaped neck.…

    • 1076 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    This bronze statue is one of the few bronze statues to have survived from antiquity (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000) and consists of a sleeping child (Eros, god of love) lying on what seems to be a large stone. The young child appears to be exhausted while his facial expression represents innocence. This statue is a lifelike depiction of a relaxed sleeping baby lying nude on his left side with his right arm hanging over. The sleeping baby also has visible wings behind him with pudgy legs and tousled hair. Similar to the Grave stele of a little girl statue, the surface of this bronze statue is also smooth and has a visual…

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Statue of Akhenaten

    • 891 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Statues come in many different forms, sizes, styles, and reasons. After watching our online video and I saw a statue from “The New Kingdom” of the infamous Pharaoh Akhenaten. I was intrigued by the unusual features of this statue. They were unlike the traditional features on a statue I am accustomed to. My research was to find out a little more about this Pharaoh and why he was featured so radically different from the typical statues I was accustomed seeing from ancient times including that of ancient Egyptian tradition. I took a look at some historical facts to see if they may help put the pieces of the puzzle together.…

    • 891 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the Archaic period, the Greeks developed a monumental stone sculpture for the representation of life-size, nude, young men (kouroi) and life-size, clothed, young women (korai). The kouroi, which were evidently made to serve a funerary purpose at a gravesite, emulate the frontal pose of standard Egyptian statues, but, over the course of the sixth century, are carved with increasingly more realistic anatomy. Faces, however, retain the conventional "Archaic smile" which serves to illustrate that the person is alive. Korai, shown wearing contemporary fashionable clothing, evidently stood as votive offerings in temple sanctuaries. A stylistic "sister" to the Anavysos kouros is the statue of a kore wearing a peplos, a simple, long, woolen belted garment that…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Greek Progression

    • 625 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Greek Archaic period art started around 700 BC and ended around 480 BC. Common elements is Archaic art consist of animated faces, motion, long hair, and arms down with hands in a fist. There was great attention to the human anatomy during this time. A good example of this is the statue Kroisos, a grave marker for a fallen warrior. The statue is dated from about 540 to 515 BC and is now in the Archaeological Museum of Athens. This freestanding statue has many Archaic elements from his striding stance to his expressive face. Notably, the sculpture has what is called an “Archaic smile,” which is used to described the over animated face that was common in the Archaic period. It is also seen that he is standing in a striding position indicating the he is walking. This along with his clenched fists, long hair, and detailed anatomy makes it clear that he originates from the Archaic period. However, this sculpture in not overtly realistic but rather more idealistic of what a warrior should look like.…

    • 625 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Brooklyn Museum Visit

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In this statue you see a male figure kneeling, in what is believed to be an offering position. In his hand he is shown holding a diving symbol, which is being offered to the gods. This statue is 18 9/16 x 6 7/8 inches where Senemut is kneeling and 6 ¾ x 2 15/16 x 11 9/16 inches at the base of the statue. This piece is made out of granite which makes it dark grayish in color.…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Module 3

    • 6144 Words
    • 19 Pages

    By the eighth century BCE, economic and social conditions improved in Greece. At the same time, the Greek polis emerges. In sculpture, the human figural form returns. Module 3 begins with these early sculpted figures, which date to the seventh century BCE. As the Greek polis evolved into a democracy, the sculpted human figure evolved in style toward naturalistic forms. This rapid evolution in style, perhaps a natural result of radical social and political changes, distinguishes Greece from the Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern civilizations…

    • 6144 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Art Paper Outline

    • 1197 Words
    • 5 Pages

    It is 85.24 cm long bronze statue. This statue is of a mythological god, Eros. Eros is the Greek god of love and sexual desire. He was also worshiped as a fertility god. This statue depicts Eros as a baby. The figure is in an exhausted and relaxing, reclining poses. The figure has pudgy limbs and curly hair. Unlike the “Seated statue of Gudea”, it has naturalistic detail. Which makes it realistic, and humanized besides the fact of it having wings on its back. According to the descriptions at the Metropolitan Museum, this statue in the Roman period served a purposed of decoration in the villa gardens and fountains. Its function in the Hellenistic period isn’t clear but possibly have been used as dedications within a sanctuary of Aphrodite or possibly erected in a public park or private, even royal,…

    • 1197 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In art the most important thing for them was the ideal of its beauty, realism wasn’t a goal for them to reach and get. The art of ancient Greece has practiced a big creation of the culture of many countries from ancient days until now, basically in the areas of sculpture (another word for art) and architecture. In reality, there was no sharp transition from one period to another. Forms of art developed at a different pace in different parts in Greek for art and architecture, and as in any age some artists worked in more creative style than other artists and architects. Strong local traditions, and the requirements of particular groups, enable historians to locate the origins even of displaced works of…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This sculpture was discovered off the coast of Cape Artemision at an ancient shipwreck. This piece is now being held at National Archaeological Museum in Athens, Greece. This piece belongs in the classical time period because you can see the focus is on the anatomy of the body not particularly how the body looked when it moved. Also, Zeus does not have much emotion on his face, which is another characteristic of classical art. Not only does Zeus have a stoic smile but he also possesses other qualities that make him a classical piece of work. His body is proportioned perfectly and he is aligned in a natural stance, which makes him look life like. It is very interesting to see how the Greeks knew the human body well enough to be able to sculpt the perfect proportions on a medium like marble or bronze. The Atemision Zeus is made out of Bronze, which was one of the preferred methods to sculpting because bronze was fairly easy to mold. The height of this Zeus sculpture is 6’10” and that again demonstrates how these sculptures were made to look very grand and…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Very early on the Greeks made the decision that the human form was a significant subject for artistic endeavor. The standing male nude was vital during the Archaic period. Throughout that period, the sculptures were not meant to represent actual humans, they typically depicted what ideal beauty, piety, honor or sacrifice should look like. Next in the Classical period many changes took place. Poses became more relaxed, along with more technical skill of sculptors being greatly involved. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, was made in this period. Finally was the Hellenistic period. All art forms amidst this period became considerably more diverse as new cultures migrated to Greece. The sculptures of this time were further emotional and…

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays