The History Of Body Sculpture Art

Ancient Greek sculptures have an extended history, spanning over 800 years. Any body sculpture artists would be untruthful if they said they were not, in some manner, influenced by the body art sculpture of the Ancient Greeks. The body statue created by the Ancient Greeks is classed into three separate periods – the Archaic period (8th century BC to 5th century BC), Classical period (5th century BC to 4th century BC), and Hellenistic period (4th century BC to first century BC). Ancient Greek sculptures of the Classical and Hellenistic periods directly influenced Roman sculpture and even fashionable western statue nowadays.

Archaic Period

The primary era of historical Greek statues was influenced by the body art statue of the Early Egyptians. The traditional Egyptians first brought body art sculpture to importance by emphasizing excellence of the human form. Even therefore, the traditional Greek sculptures of the time were thought of unnatural and inflexible. The body sculpture of this time is criticized for showing that they were assembled in pieces. These statues are nowadays called Kouros (for male) and Kore (for feminine). They are identified for their subjects standing tall and erect, looking directly ahead with arms at the sides. A fashionable body sculpture artists can rarely use the Kouros and Kore kind of ancient Greek sculptures.

Classical Period

The Classical age of ancient Greek sculptures begins with the defeat of the Persians at Marathon. This military victory led to giving the body sculpture artisans a sense of confidence and with it, an urge to bring realism to body statue. The advancement of this era in ancient Greek sculptures is the contrapposto stance, in which one leg of the topic is extended to express a shift in weight and therefore the presence of gravity. An example of the contrapposto stance of Classical ancient Greek sculptures is Discobolos by the body sculpture artist, Myron. The Discus Thrower shows the stress of his position and the results of gravity on him. Myron cast the original in bronze rather than the marble that is popularized in reproductions of ancient Greek sculptures.

Hellenistic Period

The Hellenistic period of ancient Greek statues lasts up to the Roman assault of Greece in the 1st Century BC. The growth of the Greek empire at this time is responsible for the widespread influence of Greek body art sculpture. This period is known for vastly improving upon the poses and lively movement begun in the Classical era of ancient Greek statues . The masterpiece of this period is considered the Nike of Samothrace body sculpture. The dynamic of movement is so precise the breeze blowing through the feathers of the wings and the folds of the attire can be seen with unbelievable detail.

Author: Mark Wild