Doryphoros by Polykleitos
Sculptors of the Early and High Classical Grecian periods in art strived for perfection in creating the human form. They combined such features such as regular facial features, smooth skin, and particular body portions into an ideal of perfect beauty. Much as modern day advertisement has idealized the slender model as the new perfect female form.One such artist of the time was named Polykleitos of Argos. He was a well-known sculptor and art theorist. His aim in sculpting was to produce the perfect human figure using a mathematical equation to sculpt the body parts. It is believed that he used a basic unit ratio to measure the rest of the body parts. He set down his theory on the human for in a treatise known as "The Canon" and created a larger than life size sculpture he named "Doryphoros" and is now called "The Spear Bearer." Unfortunately nobody knows exac
His right leg the opposite of the right arm and tensed to support the weight of the body, while the left leg relaxes with his heel up, ready to take a step if need be. Earlier Greek artisans came up with the idea of contraposto. tly what that unit of measurement was because neither his treatise nor his statue survived the centuries. This technique makes Doryphoros appear to be relaxed but a certain tension is there and he is ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. The Warrior was also an earlier example of contraposto. This is where all the weight of the figure in question appears to put all its weight onto one leg. The Spear Bearer has taken the same position as The Warrior with respect to the arms legs and hips, and it differs in that Doryphoros further illustrates contraposto by lifting the heel of the left foot. The hips as well are offset and the head faces the opposite direction fully illustrating this counter balance technique. The Spear Bearer was created out of bronze, a popular medium at the time because of the ability to show more movement in bronze than in marble, which was the traditional medium. Polykleitos combined this with a system called chiastic balance or cross balance where there is an active-passive sense of balance. Doryphoros defined the perfect male athlete and was copied for centuries by Greek and later Roman artisans, and was later revived after a long intermission in the Renaissance. The Spear Bearer influenced the later work called the Augustus of Primaporta in 20 BC. It is different by being clothed in the traditional Roman emperor's garb. It was also sculpted in a bronze medium. Doryphoros seems to have been considerable influenced by The Warrior in 460 BC found off the sea of Italy, and also by the Kritios Boy of 480 BC.
Common topics in this essay:
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Polykleitos Argos,
Earlier Greek,
Classical Grecian,
Augustus Primaporta,
Kritios Boy,
Bearer Unfortunately,
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Greek Roman,
contraposto position,
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