The Contrapossto Statue In Ancient Greek Art

This statue is the most well known sculpture, made during the transition period between the late archaic and classical period. It allows modern viewers to see the transition between the stoic Kouro and Kourai to the more sensual, defined and human-like figurines of the later periods Sculptures like Kritios Boy filled friezes in elite Roman villas and magnificent buildings like the Parenthon. It is seplucated that this statue was made between 400-480 BCE, by the artist Krito a philosopher, teacher and artist. They're many ideas relating to sculptures representation, most historians agree that it may represent the youth and virility of a victor returning from war. Due to the location the statue was found it is safe to assume that Athenians

that passed by the statue considered it a symbol of Athenian society. The style and form of the statue was the first of many figures made during the early classical period. According to Robert Hulbert an art historian “The transition from stocky kuros to the movement filled statues of the early classical period is considered the most iconic image of Athens”(Hulbert,9). This statue is representative of the culture it is from, the purpose it was used for and the class of object it is.
The statue is representative of the serenity in early classical Greek art.

Greek art is iconic for their proportionality, balance and harmony. Greek art transitioned very drastically to a more realistic, human
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figurines like statues of gods like Zeus. During, the early classical period the Contrapossto stance was very popular amongst revolutionary artist. The Contrapossto stance consist of the figure leaning on one leg, positioning most of their weight on this leg while the hip is lifted higher on the opposite leg. The “S” curvature of the statues body is a component of art during this period, it is more realistic and is favored more than the stocky Kuros.
The purpose of this statue was probably as a source of motivation for Athenians. Usually, Early classical statues represented Gods and heroic figures in history. Gods like Zeus or Poseidon represented holy deities, they were built towering over the common man with a very muscular physique. They were also presented usually engaging in battle. The Kritios Boy does not have the Archaic smile the canon common to most Archaic

sculputres.
The class of this item is a free-standing statue, today we only have the torso, head and portion of the arms and legs. The statue was found in the old acropolis of Athens, it was partially destroyed and was missing it's head. It is partially understood that this statue was damaged during the Persian invasion of Athens and was later buried along with other destroyed artifacts. This statue was made of marble and initially had bronze eyes and golden leaf lashes. It is safe to assume that the bronze eyes were stolen by the Persian horde. Today, this statue is available for the public at the Acropolis Museum of Athens for only 5 euros a trip.