Free standing males Archaic Period Flashcards
When was the archaic period
650 bc - 490 bc
What do you call male youths plural
Kouroi
What do you call a make youth statue singular
Kouros
What is a cult statue ?
Representation of a god
What is a votive statue
Offering to a god
What is a funerary statue
Grave marker
Briefly outline how marble statues are made
Quarry the block of marble
Draw figure of statue in all four sides
Sculpture carves the marble which results in a free standing statue
Outline the kouros pose
Left foot forward
Hands straight down to sides
Weight evenly distributed across both hips
Stares straight ahead
Rigid and unnatural !
Which 2 reasons were there for adapting the kouros pose
1 - limits with material of low tensile strength I.e marble
Limbs unextended was necessary for the material used as extended arms would have resulted in them falling off
Kouros pose - preserve statue
2- difficulties with foreshortening
Kouros pose enabled straight forward drawings
List the kouroi in order
New York Kouros
Delphi twins and sounion kouros
Anavyssos kouros and Piraeus Apollo
Aristodokos kouros
Which statue is made of bronze
Piraeus Apollo
Which Kouroi are funerary ?
Is this certain ?
New York Kouros - probably funerary. It is unclear
Anavyssos kouros - defo funerary
Has inscription identifying person and cause of death
Aristodokos kouros - defo funerary
Has inscription identifying him
Which Kouroi are arguably cult statues
Why ?
Sounion Kouros
It is 3m high
Piraeus Apollo
Objects of bowl and hand which looks like it would be carrying a bow may indicate a depiction of Apollo
Which kouros is arguably votive ?
Delphi twins - probably. It is unclear
Briefly outline how to make a bronze statue ?
Which statue in the archaic period is bronze ?
Lost wax method
Build up statue out of clay (rather than chip away) - easier to add detail
Cover clay in wax
Add more clay with hole at top
Add bronze which melts wax
Piraeus Apollo
What is the method used to make bronze statues called
Lost wax method
List all the males from the archaic period in order
New York Kouros
Sounion
Delphi twins
Anavyssos
Piraeus Apollo
Aristodikos
Which sculpture made the Delphi twins
Polymedes of Argos
What does the naked young male form depicted in the archaic period suggest about society ?
It is a Pederastic society
Describe the proportions on the New York Kouros
Broad shoulders narrow waist
Large facial features
Undermines realism b
What is the symmetry on the New York Kouros ?
What does this indicate ?
Unrealistic harshly incised muscle lines
On front and back
Collar bone and breasts
Ribs
Shows the Greek’s interest in symmetry
Projects idealised form of male youth
Describe the hair on New York Kouros
Headband
Satisfyingly even hair looks similar to plaits or dreadlocks
No movement so unrealistic
Egyptian influence
When was the New York Kouros made
610-600
BC
What are the Delphi twins called
Kleobis and Biton
Why do the Delphi twins have a bulkier aesthetic ?
They were made in Argos and different Poleis have different aesthetics
Which statues are a little over life size
New York Kouros
Delphi twins
Which statues are lifesize ?
What does this suggest about progression of the archaic period ?
Anavyssos kouros
Piraeus Apollo
Aristodikos
The height of the statues in the later archaic period being lifesize reflects the emphasis on realism in the later archaic period
How do the Delphi twins differ from the New York Kouros ?
No volute ears
Less harshly incised lines
There are two of them
Bulkier aesthetic
Less obvious block in sticking arm to body showing finer detail
Slightly differentiated statues
REPRESENTS ACTUAL IDEALISED INDIVIDUALS RATHER THAN ANONYMOUS IDEALISED KOUROS
What problems do the Delphi twins still face ?
4
Hair is still long braided and does not show weight and is unrealistic
Kouros pose undermining realism
Lines indicating muscle
Material of low tensile strength
When were the Delphi twins made ?
580 bc
Briefly outline Herodotus’ story of Delphi twins
Wise man Solon described them as happiest men he had ever seen
Died after carrying mother in chariot, physically demonstrating strength to the community at the peak of their health and virtue
When was the sounion Kouros made
580 Bc
How does the sounion Kouros differ from the previous Kouroi?
It’s massive (3m+)
Attempt at conveying realistic leg muscles
Larger gap between body and arms showing a more daring sculpture
How is the sounion Kouros similar to the previous Kouroi ?
- why does it still struggle to depict realism ?
Unrealistic facial features
Especially large eyes and volute ears (like New York Kouros )
Hair !
Fringe of curls( like Delphi )
Unrealistic
Kouros pose
Undermines realism
Harsh incised lines for muscles
(Symmetry in chest also)
When was the anavyssos kouros made
530-520 bc
How do we know the anavyssos kouros is a grave marker ?
It has a inscription
Celebrates kroisos who fired fighting on the front rank
Which statue conveys the pronounced aesthetic shift in the archaic period ?
Anavyssos kouros
Which statue first depicts the archaic smile
Anavyssos
How does the anavyssos kouros differ from the other previous Kouroi?
(4)
Organic incised lines !
Less symmetry
Facial proportions Natural smaller eyes Archaic smile Bone structure Ears not volutes
Realistic body proportions
I.e larger waist
What problems does the anavyssos kouros still face ?
2
Kouros pose !
Undermines realism sculptor is trying to depict
Hair
Unrealistic ringlets
Headband (New York)
When was the Piraeus Apollo made
530-530 bc
How does the Piraeus Apollo break the conventional Kouros pose?
How is it able to do this ?
Why is it still considered a kouros ?
Arms extended
Head leans forward
The right foot is forward instead of the left
Used lost wax method as is bronze statue so it has a higher tensile strength, can support its own weight, allowing exploration with pose
However it is a still a Kouros as it retains the defining feature of even weight distribution undermining its realism
What objects would the Piraeus Apollo have been holding ?
What does this indicate ?
Bowl and bow
May be an indication that statue is of Apollo
Where does the Piraeus Apollo still struggle to obtain realism ?
Unrealistic harshly defined pubic region
Hair -
More textured but doesn’t depict weight and looks in plaits/ dreadlocks
KOUROS POSE -
Unrealistic uneven weight distribution
How does the Piraeus Apollo attempt realism ?
Realistic facial features
Ears not volutes
Proportional face
Archaic smile
Attempts to break out of Kouros pose
Attempts identity through objects
When was the Aristodikos Kouros made ?
500-490 bc
How does the aristodikos Kouros attempt to break the kouros pose ?
How does it fail ?
Attempts to extend arms
However this fails as aristodikos is made of marble which has a low tensile strength so hands fall off
How does the aristodikos Kouros attempt to escape the previous problems with hair ?
Why does this fail ?
Has shorter hair to sidestep problems with depicting weight and flow of hair
However short hair is still unrealistic with spirals
How does the aristodikos Kouros succeed in conveying realism ?
(2)
Totally organic lines and realistic proportions
Aka muscles thighs
Shorter hair does minimise issue to an extent
How do we know the aristodikos Kouros is funerary ?
Has inscription
‘For aristodikos’
What happened to the aristodikos Kouros’ face ?
It was ploughed
