The Kritios boy is under life-sized. The softer, more rounded and volumetric treatment of the body contrasts with the sharper angular lines of the Archaic period. The athletic nude male was a symbol for victory and civic commitment, and was a recurrent image throughout
What is the explanation for the name of the Kritios boy sculpture?
The Kritios or Kritian Boy dates to the Late Archaic period 490-480 B.C.E. The statue is thus named because it is attributed to Kritios, who worked along with Nesiotes, or their school of teaching. The statue is made of marble and is smaller than life-size.
What do kouros figures represent?
A kouros is a statue of a standing nude youth that did not represent any one individual youth but the idea of youth. Used in Archaic Greece as both a dedication to the gods in sanctuaries and as a grave monument, the standard kouros stood with his left foot forward, arms at his sides, looking straight ahead.
Why is the Kritios boy Fig 5 35 considered to be one of the most important sculptures in the history of art?
Kritios Boy was the first to capture the human body in motion naturalistically.
What was so special about the Kritios boy?
The Kritios Boy belongs to the early Classical period of ancient Greek sculpture from 480 BC. It is the first statue known to use the contrapposto posture.
What does contrapposto symbolize?
Definition. Contrapposto was historically an important sculptural development, for its appearance marks the first time in Western art that the human body is used to express a more relaxed psychological disposition.
How is the Kritios boy an early transition from Archaic to early classical style?
Kritios Boy
The marble statue is a prime example of the Early Classical sculptural style and demonstrates the shift away from the stiff style seen in Archaic kouroi. The torso depicts an understanding of the body and the plasticity of the muscles and skin allow the statue to come to life.
What is the meaning of the archaic smile?
The archaic smile was used by sculptors in Archaic Greece, especially in the second quarter of the 6th century BCE, possibly to suggest that their subject was alive and infused with a sense of well-being.
How does the figurative sculpture of Kritios boy change from previous Kouros sculpture?
A particularly dramatic shift can be seen in the representation of the male nude, which changed from the rigid, frontal, heroic, and monumental Archaic youths, or kouroi, to the more lifelike, smaller, and somewhat adolescent Kritios Boy.
What does the name kouros mean?
Etymology. The Ancient Greek word kouros (κοῦρος) refers to “youth, boy, especially of noble rank.” When a pubescent was received into the body of grown men, as a grown Kouros, he could enter the initiation fest of the brotherhood (φρατρία).
Why is Kritios boy so important in the history of Western sculpture?
Significance. Whether or not Kritios was the innovator, with the Kritios Boy (ephebos) the Greek artist has mastered a complete understanding of how the different parts of the body act as a system. The statue moves away from the rigid and stiff pose of the Archaic style.
How does the figurative sculpture of Kritios boy change from previous kouros sculpture?
A particularly dramatic shift can be seen in the representation of the male nude, which changed from the rigid, frontal, heroic, and monumental Archaic youths, or kouroi, to the more lifelike, smaller, and somewhat adolescent Kritios Boy.
What is the meaning of the archaic smile?
The archaic smile was used by sculptors in Archaic Greece, especially in the second quarter of the 6th century BCE, possibly to suggest that their subject was alive and infused with a sense of well-being.
What are the 3 types of smiles?
Broadly speaking, there are three kinds of smiles: smiles of reward, smiles of affiliation, and smiles of dominance. A smile may be among the most instinctive and simple of expressions — just the hoisting of a couple of facial muscles.