ancient Greek sculpture is the leading standard in the world of sculptural art, which continues to inspire contemporary sculptors to create artistic masterpieces. Frequent themes of sculptures and stucco compositions of ancient Greek sculptors were the battles of great heroes, mythology and legends, rulers and ancient Greek gods.

Greek sculpture received particular development in the period from 800 to 300 BC. e. This area of ​​sculpture drew early inspiration from Egyptian and Near Eastern monumental art and developed over the centuries into a unique Greek vision of the form and dynamics of the human body.

Greek painters and sculptors reached the pinnacle of artistic excellence that captured the elusive features of a person and displayed them in a way that no one else could ever show. Greek sculptors were particularly interested in proportion, balance, and the idealized perfection of the human body, and their stone and bronze figures have become some of the most recognizable works of art ever created by any civilization.

The origin of sculpture in ancient Greece

From the 8th century BC, archaic Greece saw an increase in the production of small solid figures in clay, ivory and bronze. Undoubtedly, wood was also a widely used material, but its susceptibility to erosion did not allow mass production of wooden products, as they did not show the necessary durability. Bronze figures, human heads, mythical monsters, and in particular griffins, were used as decorations and handles for bronze vessels, cauldrons and bowls.

In style, Greek human figures have expressive geometric lines, which can often be found on pottery of that time. The bodies of warriors and gods are depicted with elongated limbs and a triangular torso. Also often ancient Greek creations are decorated with animal figures. Many have been found throughout Greece in places of refuge such as Olympia and Delphi, indicating their common function as amulets and objects of worship.

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The oldest Greek stone sculptures made of limestone date back to the middle of the 7th century BC and were found in Thera. During this period, bronze figures also appear more and more often. From the point of view of the author's intention, the plots of the sculptural compositions became more and more complex and ambitious and could already depict warriors, battle scenes, athletes, chariots, and even musicians with instruments of that period.

Marble sculpture appears at the beginning of the 6th century BC. The first monumental marble statues in life size they served as monuments dedicated to heroes and noble persons, or were located in sanctuaries in which a symbolic service to the gods was held.

The earliest large stone figures found in Greece depicted young men dressed in women's clothes, who were accompanied by a cow. The sculptures were static and crude, as in Egyptian monumental statues, the arms were placed straight at the sides, the legs were almost together, and the eyes looked straight ahead without any particular facial expression. These rather static figures slowly evolved through the detailing of the image. Talented masters focused on the smallest details of the image, such as hair and muscles, thanks to which the figures began to come to life.

A characteristic pose for Greek statues was the position in which the arms are slightly bent, which gives them tension in the muscles and veins, and one leg (usually the right one) is slightly advanced forward, giving a sense of the dynamic movement of the statue. This is how the first realistic images of the human body in dynamics appeared.

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Painting and coloring ancient Greek sculpture

By the early 19th century, systematic excavations of ancient Greek sites had unearthed many sculptures with traces of multicolored surfaces, some of which were still visible. Despite this, influential art historians such as Johann Joachim Winckelmann objected to the idea of ​​painted Greek sculpture so strongly that proponents of painted statues were labeled eccentrics and their views were largely suppressed for over a century.

Only the published scientific papers of the German archaeologist Vindzenik Brinkmann in the late 20th and early 21st century described the discovery of a number of famous ancient Greek sculptures. Using high-intensity lamps, ultraviolet light, specially designed chambers, plaster casts, and some powdered minerals, Brinkmann proved that the entire Parthenon, including its main body, as well as the statues, were painted in different colors. Next, he chemically and physically analyzed the pigments of the original paint to determine its composition.

Brinkmann created several color-painted replicas of Greek statues that went on tour around the world. The collection included copies of many works of Greek and Roman sculpture, thereby demonstrating that the practice of painting sculpture was the norm and not the exception in Greek and Roman art.

The museums in which the exhibits were exhibited noted the great success of the exhibition among visitors, which is due to some discrepancy between the usual snow-white Greek athletes and those bright statues that they really were. Venues include the Glyptotek Museum in Munich, the Vatican Museum and the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. The collection staged its American debut at Harvard University in the fall of 2007.

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Stages of the formation of Greek sculpture

The development of sculptural art in Greece went through several significant stages. Each of them was reflected in the sculpture with its characteristic features, noticeable even to non-professionals.

geometric stage

It is believed that the earliest incarnation of Greek sculpture was in the form of wooden cult statues, first described by Pausanias. No evidence of this has survived, and descriptions of them are vague, despite the fact that they were probably objects of veneration for hundreds of years.

The first real evidence of Greek sculpture was found on the island of Euboea and dated to 920 BC. It was a statue of a Lefkandi centaur by the hand of an unknown terracotta sculpture. The statue was pieced together as it was deliberately smashed and buried in two separate graves. The centaur has a distinct mark (wound) on his knee. This allowed the researchers to suggest that the statue may depict Chiron, wounded by the arrow of Hercules. If this is indeed the case, it can be considered the earliest famous description myth in the history of Greek sculpture.

The sculptures of the Geometric period (approximately 900 to 700 BC) were small figurines made of terracotta, bronze and ivory. Typical sculptural works of this era are represented by many examples of equestrian statues. However, the plot repertoire is not limited to men and horses, since some examples of statues and stucco found from that time depict images of deer, birds, beetles, hares, griffins and lions.

There are no inscriptions on the geometric sculpture of the early period until the appearance of the statue of Manticlos "Apollo" from the beginning of the 7th century BC, found in Thebes. The sculpture is a figure standing man, at the feet of which the inscription is inscribed. This inscription is a kind of instruction to help each other and return kindness for kindness.

archaic period

Inspired by the monumental stone sculpture of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the Greeks began carving in stone again. The individual figures share the hardness and frontal stance characteristic of Oriental models, but their forms are more dynamic than those of Egyptian sculpture. An example of the sculptures of this period are the statues of Lady Auxerre and the torso of Hera (early archaic period - 660-580 BC, exhibited in the Louvre, Paris).

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Such figures had one characteristic feature in facial expression - an archaic smile. This expression, which has no specific relevance to the person or situation depicted, may have been an artist's tool to give animation and "liveness" to the figures.

During this period, sculpture was dominated by three types of figures: a standing naked youth, a standing girl dressed in traditional Greek attire, and a seated woman. They emphasize and generalize the main features of the human figure and show an increasingly accurate understanding and knowledge of human anatomy.

Ancient Greek statues of naked youths, in particular the famous Apollo, were often presented in huge sizes, which was supposed to show power and male strength. In these statues, the details of the musculature and skeletal structure are much more visible than in the early geometric works. The dressed girls have a wide range of facial expressions and postures, as in the sculptures of the Athenian Acropolis. Their drapery is carved and painted with the delicacy and meticulousness characteristic of the details of the sculpture of this period.

The Greeks decided very early on that the human figure was the most important subject of artistic endeavour. Suffice it to recall that their gods have a human appearance, which means that there was no difference between sacred and secular in art - the human body was both secular and sacred at the same time. A male nude figure, without reference to a character, could just as easily become Apollo or Hercules, or portray a mighty Olympian.

As with ceramics, the Greeks did not produce sculpture just for artistic display. Statues were made to order either by aristocrats and nobles, or by the state, and were used for public memorials, for the decoration of temples, oracles and sanctuaries (which ancient inscriptions on statues often prove). The Greeks also used sculptures as monuments for graves. Statues in the archaic period were not meant to represent specific people. These were images of ideal beauty, piety, honor or sacrifice. That is why sculptors have always created sculptures of young people, ranging from adolescence to early adulthood, even when they were placed on the graves of (presumably) elderly citizens.

classical period

The classical period made a revolution in Greek sculpture, sometimes associated by historians with radical changes in social and political life - the introduction of democracy and the end of the aristocratic era. The Classical period brought with it changes in the style and function of sculpture, as well as a dramatic increase in the technical skill of Greek sculptors in depicting realistic human forms.

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The poses also became more natural and dynamic, especially at the beginning of the period. It was at this time that Greek statues began to increasingly depict real people rather than vague interpretations of myths or entirely fictional characters. Although the style in which they were presented has not yet developed into a realistic form of portraiture. The statues of Harmodius and Aristogeiton, created in Athens, symbolize the overthrow of aristocratic tyranny and, according to historians, become the first public monuments that show the figures of real people.

The Classic period also saw the flourishing of stucco art and the use of sculptures as decorations for buildings. Characteristic temples of the classical era, such as the Parthenon at Athens and the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, used relief molding for decorative friezes, wall and ceiling decoration. The complex aesthetic and technical challenge facing the sculptors of that period contributed to the creation of sculptural innovations. Most of the works of that period have survived only in the form of separate fragments, for example, the stucco decoration of the Parthenon is today partly in the British Museum.

Funeral sculpture made a huge leap during this period, from the rigid and impersonal statues of the archaic period to the very personal family groups of the classical era. These monuments are usually found in the suburbs of Athens, which in ancient times were cemeteries on the outskirts of the city. Although some of them depict "ideal" types of people (a yearning mother, an obedient son), they are increasingly becoming the personification of real people and, as a rule, show that the departed leaves this world with dignity, leaving his family. This is a noticeable increase in the level of emotions relative to the archaic and geometric eras.

Another notable change is the flourishing of the creative work of talented sculptors whose names have gone down in history. All information known about sculptures in the Archaic and Geometric periods is focused on the works themselves, with little attention given to their authors.

Hellenistic period

The transition from the classical to the Hellenistic (or Greek) period occurred in the 4th century BC. Greek art became more and more diverse under the influence of the cultures of the peoples involved in the Greek orbit, the conquests of Alexander the Great (336-332 BC). According to some art historians, this led to a decrease in the quality and originality of the sculpture, however, people of that time may not have shared this opinion.

It is known that many sculptures, previously considered geniuses of the classical era, were actually created in the Hellenistic period. The technical ability and talent of the Hellenistic sculptors is evident in such major works as the Winged Victory of Samothrace and the Pergamon Altar. New centers of Greek culture, especially in sculpture, developed in Alexandria, Antioch, Pergamon and other cities. By the 2nd century BC, the growing power of Rome had also swallowed up much of the Greek tradition.

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During this period, sculpture again experienced a shift towards naturalism. Heroes for creating sculptures now became ordinary people - men, women with children, animals and domestic scenes. Many of the creations from that period were commissioned by wealthy families to decorate their homes and gardens. Realistic figures of men and women of all ages were created, and sculptors no longer felt compelled to depict people as ideals of beauty or physical perfection.

At the same time, the new Hellenistic cities that sprang up in Egypt, Syria, and Anatolia needed statues depicting the gods and heroes of Greece for their temples and public spaces. This led to the fact that sculpture, like ceramic production, became an industry with subsequent standardization and some decrease in quality. That is why much more Hellenistic creations have survived to this day than the epochs of the classical period.

Along with the natural shift towards naturalism, there was also a shift in the expression and emotional embodiment of the sculptures. The heroes of the statues began to express more energy, courage and strength. An easy way to appreciate this shift in expression is to compare the best-known creations of the Hellenistic period with those of the Classical period. One of the most famous masterpieces The sculpture “Carrier of Delphi”, which expresses humility and humility, is considered to be of the classical period. At the same time, the sculptures of the Hellenistic period reflect strength and energy, which is especially pronounced in the work "The Jockey of Artemisia".

The most famous Hellenistic sculptures in the world are the Winged Victory of Samothrace (1st century BC) and the statue of Aphrodite from the island of Melos, better known as Venus de Milo (mid-2nd century BC). These statues depict classical subjects and themes, but their execution is much more sensual and emotional than the harsh spirit of the classical period and its technical skills allowed.

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Hellenistic sculpture was also subject to an increase in scale, culminating in the Colossus of Rhodes (late 3rd century), which historians believe was comparable in size to the Statue of Liberty. A series of earthquakes and robberies destroyed this legacy of ancient Greece, like many other major works of this period, the existence of which is described in literary works contemporaries.

After the conquests of Alexander the Great, Greek culture spread to India, as evidenced by the excavations of Ai-Khanoum in eastern Afghanistan. Greco-Buddhist art represented an intermediate stage between Greek art and the visual expression of Buddhism. Discoveries made since the end of the 19th century regarding the ancient Egyptian city of Heracles have revealed the remains of a statue of Isis dating back to the 4th century BC.

The statue depicts an Egyptian goddess in an unusually sensual and subtle way. This is not typical for the sculptors of that area, because the image is detailed and feminine, which symbolizes the combination of Egyptian and Hellenistic forms during the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great.

Ancient Greek sculpture is the progenitor of all world art! Until now, the masterpieces of Ancient Greece attract millions of tourists and art lovers who seek to touch the beauty and talent that is not subject to time.

There are many historical facts related to Greek Statues (which we will not go into in this compilation). However, it is not necessary to have a degree in history to admire the incredible craftsmanship of these magnificent sculptures. Truly timeless works of art, these 25 most legendary Greek statues are masterpieces of varying proportions.

Athlete from Fano

Known by the Italian name The Athlete of Fano, Victorious Youth is a Greek bronze sculpture that was found in the Fano Sea on the Adriatic coast of Italy. The Fano Athlete was built between 300 and 100 BC and is currently in the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum in California. Historians believe that the statue was once part of a group of sculptures of victorious athletes at Olympia and Delphi. Italy still wants to return the sculpture and disputes its removal from Italy.

Poseidon from Cape Artemision
An ancient Greek sculpture that was found and restored by the sea at Cape Artemision. The bronze Artemision is believed to represent either Zeus or Poseidon. There is still some debate about this sculpture because its missing thunderbolts rule out the possibility that it is Zeus, while its missing trident also rules out the possibility that it is Poseidon. Sculpture has always been associated with the ancient sculptors Myron and Onatas.

Zeus statue in Olympia
The statue of Zeus at Olympia is a 13-meter statue, with a giant figure seated on a throne. This sculpture was created by a Greek sculptor named Phidias and is currently in the Temple of Zeus in Olympia, Greece. The statue is made of ivory and wood and depicts the Greek god Zeus seated on a cedar throne adorned with gold, ebony and other precious stones.

Athena Parthenon
Athena of the Parthenon is a giant gold and ivory statue of the Greek goddess Athena, discovered in the Parthenon in Athens. Made of silver, ivory and gold, it was created by the famous ancient Greek sculptor Phidias and is regarded today as the most famous iconic symbol of Athens. The sculpture was destroyed by a fire that took place in 165 BC, but was restored and placed in the Parthenon in the 5th century.

Lady of Auxerre
The 75 cm Lady of Auxerre is a Cretan sculpture currently housed in the Louvre in Paris. She depicts an archaic Greek goddess during the 6th century, Persephone. A curator from the Louvre named Maxime Collignon found a mini statue in the vault of the Musée Auxerre in 1907. Historians believe that the sculpture was created during the 7th century during the Greek transitional period.

Antinous Mondragon
The 0.95 meter tall marble statue depicts the god Antinous among a massive group of cult statues built to worship Antinous as a Greek god. When the sculpture was found at Frascati during the 17th century, it was identified by its striated eyebrows, serious expression, and gaze that was directed downwards. This creation was purchased in 1807 for Napoleon and is currently on display at the Louvre.

Apollo Strangford
An ancient Greek sculpture made of marble, the Strangford Apollo was built between 500 and 490 BC and was created in honor of the Greek god Apollo. It was discovered on the island of Anafi and named after the diplomat Percy Smith, 6th Viscount Strangford and the real owner of the statue. The Apollo is currently housed in room 15 of the British Museum.

Kroisos of Anavyssos
Discovered in Attica, Kroisos of Anavyssos is a marble kouros that once served as a tomb statue for Kroisos, a young and noble Greek warrior. The statue is famous for its archaic smile. 1.95 meters tall, Kroisos is a freestanding sculpture that was built between 540 and 515 BC and is currently on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. The inscription under the statue reads: “stop and mourn at the gravestone of Kroisos, who was killed by the rampaging Ares when he was in the front ranks.”

Beaton and Cleobis
Created by the Greek sculptor Polymidis, Bython and Cleobis are a pair of archaic Greek statues created by the Argives in 580 BC to worship two brothers linked by Solon in a legend called the Histories. The statue is now in the Archaeological Museum of Delphi, Greece. Originally built in Argos, Peloponnese, a pair of statues were found at Delphi with inscriptions on the base identifying them as Cleobis and Byton.

Hermes with baby Dionysus
Created in honor of the Greek god Hermes, Hermes Praxiteles represents Hermes carrying another popular character in Greek mythology, baby Dionysus. The statue was made from Parian marble. It is believed by historians that it was built by the ancient Greeks during 330 BC. It is known today as one of the most original masterpieces of the great Greek sculptor Praxiteles and is currently housed in the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, Greece.

Alexander the Great
A statue of Alexander the Great was discovered in the Palace of Pella in Greece. Marble-coated and made of marble, the statue was built in 280 BC to honor Alexander the Great, a popular Greek hero who gained fame in several parts of the world and fought battles against the Persian armies, especially at Granisus, Issus and Gaugamela. The statue of Alexander the Great is now on display among the Greek art collections of the Archaeological Museum of Pella in Greece.

Kora in Peplos
Restored from the Acropolis of Athens, the Peplos Kore is a stylized depiction of the Greek goddess Athena. Historians believe that the statue was created to serve as a votive offering during ancient times. Made during the Archaic period of Greek art history, Kore is characterized by the rigid and formal pose of Athena, her majestic curls and archaic smile. The statue originally appeared in a variety of colors, but only traces of its original colors can be seen today.

Ephebe from Antikythera
Made of fine bronze, the Ephebe of Antikythera is a statue of a young man, god or hero holding a spherical object in his right hand. Being a creation of Peloponnesian bronze sculpture, this statue was restored in the area of ​​a shipwreck near the island of Antikythera. It is believed to be one of the works of the famous sculptor Ephranor. Ephebe is currently on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.

Delphic charioteer
Better known as Heniokos, the Charioteer of Delphi is one of the most popular statues that survived Ancient Greece. This life-size bronze statue depicts a chariot driver that was restored in 1896 at the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi. Here it was originally erected during the 4th century to commemorate the victory of the chariot team in ancient sports. Originally part of a massive group of sculptures, the Charioteer of Delphi is now displayed in the Archaeological Museum of Delphi.

Harmodius and Aristogeiton
Harmodius and Aristogeiton were created after the establishment of democracy in Greece. Created by the Greek sculptor Antenor, the statues were made of bronze. These were the first statues in Greece to be paid for with public funds. The purpose of the creation was to honor both men, whom the ancient Athenians accepted as outstanding symbols of democracy. The original installation site was Kerameikos in 509 AD, along with other heroes of Greece.

Aphrodite of Knidos
Known as one of the most popular statues created by the ancient Greek sculptor Praxiteles, Aphrodite of Knidos was the first life-size representation of a nude Aphrodite. Praxiteles built the statue after he was commissioned by Kos to create a statue depicting the beautiful goddess Aphrodite. In addition to its status as a cult image, the masterpiece has become a landmark in Greece. Its original copy did not survive the massive fire that once took place in ancient Greece, but its replica is currently on display in the British Museum.

Winged Victory of Samothrace
Created in 200 BC. The Winged Victory of Samothrace depicting the Greek goddess Nike is considered today as the greatest masterpiece of Hellenistic sculpture. She is currently on display at the Louvre among the most celebrated original statues in the world. It was created between 200 and 190 BC, not to honor the Greek goddess Nike, but to celebrate a naval battle. The Winged Victory was established by the Macedonian general Demetrius, after his naval victory in Cyprus.

Statue of Leonidas I at Thermopylae
The statue of the Spartan king Leonidas I at Thermopylae was erected in 1955, in memory of the heroic king Leonidas, who distinguished himself during the Battle against the Persians in 480 BC. The sign was placed under the statue, which reads "Come and Get It". This is what Leonidas said when King Xerxes and his army asked them to lay down their weapons.

Wounded Achilles
Wounded Achilles is the image of the hero of the Iliad named Achilles. This ancient Greek masterpiece depicts his agony before his death, being wounded by a deadly arrow. Made from alabaster stone, the original statue is currently located at the Achilleion residence of Queen Elisabeth of Austria in Kofu, Greece.

Dying Gaul
Also known as the Death of Galatian, or the Dying Gladiator, the Dying Gaul is an ancient Hellenistic sculpture that was created between 230 BC and 230 BC. and 220 BC for Attalus I of Pergamon to celebrate the victory of his group over the Gauls in Anatolia. It is believed that the statue was created by Epigonus, a sculptor of the Attalid dynasty. The statue depicts a dying Celtic warrior lying on his fallen shield next to his sword.

Laocoon and his sons
The statue, currently located in the Vatican Museum in Rome, Laocoön and his Sons, is also known as the Laocoön Group and was originally created by three great Greek sculptors from the island of Rhodes, Agesender, Polydorus and Athenodoros. This life-size marble statue depicts a Trojan priest named Laocoön, along with his sons Timbreus and Antiphanthes, being strangled by sea serpents.

The Colossus of Rhodes
A statue depicting a Greek Titan named Helios, the Colossus of Rhodes was first erected in the city of Rhodes between 292 and 280 BC. Recognized today as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the statue was built to celebrate the victory of Rhodes over the ruler of Cyprus during the 2nd century. Known as one of the tallest statues of Ancient Greece, the original statue was destroyed by the earthquake that hit Rhodes in 226 BC.

Discus thrower
Built by one of the best sculptors of Ancient Greece during the 5th century, Myron, the Discus Thrower was a statue originally placed at the entrance to the Panathinaikon Stadium in Athens, Greece, where the first event of the Olympic Games was held. The original statue, made of alabaster stone, did not survive the destruction of Greece and has never been restored.

diadumen
Found off the island of Tilos, the Diadumen is an ancient Greek sculpture that was created during the 5th century. The original statue, which was restored in Tilos, is now part of the collections of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

Trojan horse
Made of marble and coated with a special bronze coating, the Trojan Horse is an ancient Greek sculpture that was built between 470 BC and 460 BC to represent the Trojan horse in Homer's Iliad. The original masterpiece survived the devastation of Ancient Greece and is currently in the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, Greece.

The classical period of ancient Greek sculpture falls on the 5th - 4th centuries BC. (early classic or "strict style" - 500/490 - 460/450 BC; high - 450 - 430/420 BC; "rich style" - 420 - 400/390 BC Late Classic 400/390 - OK. 320 AD BC e.). At the turn of two eras - archaic and classical - there is a sculptural decoration of the temple of Athena Aphaia on the island of Aegina . The sculptures of the western pediment date back to the time of the foundation of the temple (510 - 500 years BC e.), sculptures of the second eastern, replacing the former ones, - to the early classical time (490 - 480 BC). The central monument of ancient Greek sculpture of the early classics is the pediments and metopes of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia (about 468 - 456 BC e.). Another significant work of the early classics is the so-called "Throne of Ludovisi", decorated with reliefs. A number of bronze originals also came from this time - "Delphic Charioteer", statue of Poseidon from Cape Artemisium, Bronzes from Riace . The largest sculptors of the early classics - Pythagoras Rhegian, Calamis and Myron . We judge the work of the famous Greek sculptors mainly by literary evidence and later copies of their works. High classics is represented by the names of Phidias and Polykleitos . Its short-term heyday is associated with work on the Athenian Acropolis, that is, with the sculptural decoration of the Parthenon. (the pediments, metopes and zophoros came, 447 - 432 BC). The pinnacle of ancient Greek sculpture was, apparently, chrysoelephantine statues of Athena Parthenos and Zeus Olympus by Phidias (both have not been preserved). "Rich style" is characteristic of the works of Callimachus, Alkamen, Agoracritus and other sculptors of the 5th century. BC e .. Its characteristic monuments are the reliefs of the balustrade of the small temple of Nike Apteros on the Athenian Acropolis (about 410 BC) and a number of tomb stelae, among which the Gegeso stele is most famous . The most important works of ancient Greek sculpture of the late classics are the decoration of the temple of Asclepius in Epidaurus (about 400 - 375 BC), the temple of Athena Alei in Tegea (about 370 - 350 BC), the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus (about 355 - 330 BC) and the Mausoleum in Halicarnassus (c. 350 BC), on the sculptural decoration of which Skopas, Briaxides, Timothy worked and Leohar . The statues of Apollo Belvedere are also attributed to the latter. and Diana of Versailles . There are also a number of bronze originals of the 4th century BC. BC e. The largest sculptors of the late classics are Praxitel, Skopas and Lysippus, largely anticipating the subsequent era of Hellenism.

Greek sculpture partially survived in fragments and fragments. Most of the statues are known to us from Roman copies, which were performed in many, but did not convey the beauty of the originals. Roman copyists coarsened and dried them, and turning bronze products into marble, disfigured them with clumsy props. The large figures of Athena, Aphrodite, Hermes, Satyr, which we now see in the halls of the Hermitage, are only pale rehashings of Greek masterpieces. You pass them almost indifferently and suddenly stop in front of some head with a broken nose, with a damaged eye: this is a Greek original! And the amazing power of life suddenly wafts from this fragment; the marble itself is different than in Roman statues - not dead white, but yellowish, transparent, luminous (the Greeks still rubbed it with wax, which gave the marble a warm tone). So gentle are the melting transitions of chiaroscuro, so noble is the soft sculpting of the face, that one involuntarily recalls the delights of Greek poets: these sculptures really breathe, they really are alive * * Dmitrieva, Akimov. Antique art. Essays. - M., 1988. S. 52.

In the sculpture of the first half of the century, when there were wars with the Persians, a courageous, strict style prevailed. Then a statuary group of tyrannicides was created: a mature husband and a young man, standing side by side, make an impulsive movement forward, the younger one raises the sword, the older one shields it with a cloak. This is a monument historical persons- Harmodia and Aristogeiton, who killed the Athenian tyrant Hipparchus a few decades earlier, is the first political monument in Greek art. At the same time, it expresses the heroic spirit of resistance and love of freedom that flared up in the era of the Greco-Persian wars. “They are not slaves to mortals, they are not subject to anyone,” says the Athenians in the tragedy of Aeschylus “Persians”.

Battles, skirmishes, exploits of heroes... The art of the early classics is full of these warlike plots. On the pediments of the temple of Athena in Aegina - the struggle of the Greeks with the Trojans. On the western pediment of the temple of Zeus at Olympia - the struggle of the Lapiths with the centaurs, on the metopes - all the twelve labors of Hercules. Another favorite complex of motives is gymnastic competitions; in those distant times, physical fitness, mastery of body movements were of decisive importance for the outcome of battles, so athletic games were far from just entertainment. Since the 8th century BC. e. in Olympia, gymnastic competitions were held every four years (the beginning of them later began to be considered the beginning of the Greek chronology), and in the 5th century they were celebrated with special solemnity, and now they were attended by poets who read poetry. The temple of Olympian Zeus, the classic Doric peripter, was in the center of the sacred district where the competitions took place, they began with a sacrifice to Zeus. On the eastern pediment of the temple, the sculptural composition depicted a solemn moment before the start of the horse races: in the center is the figure of Zeus, on either side of it are the statues of the mythological heroes Pelops and Oenomaus, the main participants in the upcoming competition, in the corners are their chariots harnessed by four horses. According to the myth, the winner was Pelops, in whose honor the Olympic Games were established, then resumed, as the legend said, by Hercules himself.

The themes of hand-to-hand fights, equestrian competitions, running competitions, discus throwing taught the sculptors to depict the human body in dynamics. The archaic stiffness of the figures was overcome. Now they are acting, moving; complex poses, bold angles, and sweeping gestures appear. The brightest innovator was the Attic sculptor Myron. Miron's main task was to express the movement as fully and strongly as possible. Metal does not allow for such precise and fine work as marble, and perhaps that is why he turned to finding the rhythm of movement. (The name of rhythm means the total harmony of the movement of all parts of the body.) Indeed, the rhythm was excellently captured by Miron. In the statues of athletes, he conveyed not only movement, but the transition from one stage of movement to another, as if stopping the moment. Such is his famous Disco Thrower. The athlete leaned over and swung before the throw, a second - and the disk will fly, the athlete will straighten up. But for that moment, his body froze in a very difficult position, but visually balanced.

The balance, the majestic "ethos", is preserved in classical sculpture of a strict style. The movement of the figures is neither chaotic, nor overly excited, nor too swift. Even in the dynamic motives of a fight, running, falling, the feeling of "Olympic calmness", integral plastic completeness, self-isolation is not lost. Here is a bronze statue of the Charioteer, found at Delphi, one of the few well-preserved Greek originals. It belongs to the early period of the strict style - about 470 BC. e .. This young man stands very straight (he stood on a chariot and drove a quadriga of horses), his legs are barefoot, the folds of a long chiton remind of the deep flutes of Doric columns, his head is tightly covered by a silver bandage, inlaid eyes look like they are alive. He is restrained, calm and at the same time full of energy and will. One can feel the full extent of this bronze figure with its strong, cast plasticity. human dignity as understood by the ancient Greeks.

Their art at this stage was dominated by masculine images, but, fortunately, a beautiful relief depicting Aphrodite emerging from the sea, the so-called “Ludovisi Throne” - a sculptural triptych, the upper part of which has been broken off, has also been preserved. In its central part, the goddess of beauty and love, "foam-born", rises from the waves, supported by two nymphs, who chastely protect her with a light veil. She is visible to the waist. Her body and the bodies of the nymphs shine through transparent chitons, the folds of clothes flow in a cascade, a stream, like jets of water, like music. On the side parts of the triptych are two female figures: one naked, playing the flute; the other, wrapped in a veil, lights a sacrificial candle. The first is a hetaera, the second is a wife, the keeper of the hearth, as if two faces of femininity, both under the auspices of Aphrodite.

The search for surviving Greek originals continues today; From time to time, happy finds are found either in the ground or at the bottom of the sea: for example, in 1928, in the sea, near the island of Euboea, they found an excellently preserved bronze statue of Poseidon.

But big picture Greek art of the heyday has to be mentally reconstructed and completed, we know only accidentally preserved, scattered sculptures. And they existed in the ensemble.

Among famous masters the name of Phidias overshadows the entire sculpture of subsequent generations. A brilliant representative of the age of Pericles, he said the last word in plastic technology, and so far no one has dared to compare with him, although we know him only by hints. A native of Athens, he was born a few years before the Battle of Marathon and, therefore, became just a contemporary celebration of victories over the East. Speak first l he as a painter and then switched to sculpture. According to the drawings of Phidias and his drawings, under his personal supervision, Periclean buildings were erected. Fulfilling order after order, he created marvelous statues of the gods, personifying the abstract ideals of deities in marble, gold and bone. The image of the deity was developed by him not only in accordance with his qualities, but also in relation to the purpose of honoring. He was deeply imbued with the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bwhat this idol personified, and sculpted it with all the strength and power of a genius.

Athena, which he made by order of Plataea and which cost this city very dearly, strengthened the fame of the young sculptor. A colossal statue of patron Athena was commissioned for him for the Acropolis. It reached 60 feet in height and exceeded all the neighboring buildings; from a distance, from the sea, she shone like a golden star and reigned over the whole city. It was not acrolithic (composite), like Plataean, but all cast in bronze. Another statue of the Acropolis, Athena the Virgin, made for the Parthenon, consisted of gold and ivory. Athena was depicted in a battle suit, in a golden helmet with a high-relief sphinx and vultures on the sides. In one hand she held a spear, in the other a figure of victory. At her feet was a snake, the guardian of the Acropolis. This statue is considered the best assurance of Phidias after his Zeus. It served as the original for countless copies.

But the height of perfection from all the works of Phidias is considered to be his Olympian Zeus. It was the greatest work of his life: the Greeks themselves gave him the palm. He made an irresistible impression on his contemporaries.

Zeus was depicted on a throne. In one hand he held a scepter, in the other an image of victory. The body was made of ivory, the hair was golden, the mantle was golden, enameled. The composition of the throne included ebony, bone, and precious stones. The walls between the legs were painted by Phidias' cousin, Panen; the foot of the throne was a marvel of sculpture. The general impression was, as one German scholar rightly put it, truly demonic: for a number of generations, the idol seemed to be a true god; one glance at him was enough to satisfy all sorrows and sufferings. Those who died without seeing him considered themselves unfortunate * * Gnedich P.P. World History of Art. - M., 2000. S. 97 ...

The statue died no one knows how and when: it probably burned down along with the Olympic temple. But her charms must have been great if Caligula insisted at all costs to transport her to Rome, which, however, turned out to be impossible.

The admiration of the Greeks for the beauty and wise structure of the living body was so great that they aesthetically thought of it only in statuary completeness and completeness, allowing one to appreciate the majesty of posture, the harmony of body movements. Dissolving a person in a formless crowd, showing him in a random aspect, removing him deep, plunging him into a shadow would be contrary to the aesthetic creed of the Hellenic masters, and they never did this, although the basics of perspective were clear to them. Both sculptors and painters showed a person with the utmost plastic distinctness, close-up(one figure or a group of several figures), trying to place the action in the foreground, as if on a narrow stage parallel to the background plane. The language of the body was also the language of the soul. It is sometimes said that Greek art was alien to psychology or did not grow up to it. This is not entirely true; perhaps the art of the archaic was still non-psychological, but not the art of the classics. Indeed, it did not know that scrupulous analysis of characters, that cult of the individual, which arises in modern times. It is no coincidence that the portrait in ancient Greece was relatively poorly developed. But the Greeks mastered the art of conveying, so to speak, typical psychology—they expressed a rich range of spiritual movements on the basis of generalized human types. Distracting from the nuances of personal characters, Hellenic artists did not neglect the nuances of emotions and were able to embody a complex system of feelings. After all, they were contemporaries and fellow citizens of Sophocles, Euripides, Plato.

But still, expressiveness was not so much in facial expressions as in body movements. Looking at the mysteriously serene moira of the Parthenon, at the swift, frisky Nika untying her sandal, we almost forget that their heads have been beaten off - the plasticity of their figures is so eloquent.

Each purely plastic motif - be it the graceful balance of all members of the body, reliance on both legs or on one, transferring the center of gravity to an external support, the head bowed to the shoulder or thrown back - was conceived by the Greek masters as an analogue of spiritual life. Body and psyche were realized in inseparability. Describing the classical ideal in Lectures on Aesthetics, Hegel said that in "the classical form of art, the human body in its forms is no longer recognized only as a sensual existence, but is recognized only as the existence and natural appearance of the spirit."

Indeed, the bodies of Greek statues are unusually inspired. The French sculptor Rodin said about one of them: "This youthful torso without a head smiles more joyfully at light and spring than eyes and lips could do" * * Dmitrieva, Akimova. Antique art. Essays. - M., 1988. S. 76.

Movements and postures are in most cases simple, natural and not necessarily associated with something sublime. Nika unties his sandal, the boy takes out a splinter from his heel, the young runner at the start is getting ready to run, the discus thrower Miron throws the discus. Miron's younger contemporary, the illustrious Poliklet, unlike Miron, never depicted fast movements and instantaneous states; his bronze statues of young athletes are in calm poses of light, measured movement, undulating over the figure. The left shoulder is slightly advanced, the right is retracted, the left thigh is leaning back, the right is raised, the right leg is firmly on the ground, the left is somewhat behind and slightly bent at the knee. This movement either does not have any "plot" pretext, or the pretext is insignificant - it is valuable in itself. This is a plastic hymn to clarity, reason, wise balance. Such is the Doryphorus (spear-bearer) of Polikleitos, known to us from marble Roman copies. He seems to be walking, and at the same time maintains a state of rest; the positions of the arms, legs and torso are perfectly balanced. Poliklet was the author of the treatise "Canon" (which has not come down to us, it is known from the mentions of ancient writers), where he theoretically established the laws of the proportions of the human body.

The heads of Greek statues, as a rule, are impersonal, that is, they are little individualized, reduced to a few variations of the general type, but this general type has a high spiritual capacity. In the Greek type of face, the idea of ​​"human" in its ideal version triumphs. The face is divided into three parts of equal length: forehead, nose and lower part. Correct, gentle oval. The straight line of the nose continues the line of the forehead and forms a perpendicular to the line drawn from the beginning of the nose to the opening of the ear (right facial angle). Oblong section of fairly deep-seated eyes. A small mouth, full bulging lips, the upper lip is thinner than the lower and has a beautiful smooth neckline like a cupid's bow. The chin is large and round. Wavy hair softly and tightly fits the head, without interfering with the rounded shape of the skull.

This classical beauty may seem monotonous, but, being an expressive "natural image of the spirit", it lends itself to variation and is able to embody various types of the ancient ideal. A little more energy in the warehouse of the lips, in the protruding chin - we have before us a strict virgin Athena. There is more softness in the outlines of the cheeks, the lips are slightly half-open, the eye sockets are shaded - before us is the sensual face of Aphrodite. The oval of the face is closer to a square, the neck is thicker, the lips are larger - this is already the image of a young athlete. And the basis remains the same strictly proportional classic look.

However, there is no place in it for something, from our point of view, very important: the charm of the uniquely individual, the beauty of the wrong, the triumph of the spiritual principle over bodily imperfection. The ancient Greeks could not give this, for this the original monism of spirit and body had to be broken, and the aesthetic consciousness had to enter the stage of their separation - dualism - which happened much later. But Greek art also gradually evolved in the direction of individualization and open emotionality, the concreteness of experiences and characterization, which becomes obvious already in the era of the late classics, in the 4th century BC. e.

At the end of the 5th century BC. e. the political power of Athens was shaken, undermined by the long Peloponnesian War. At the head of the opponents of Athens was Sparta; it was supported by other states of the Peloponnese and provided financial assistance Persia. Athens lost the war and were forced to conclude an unfavorable peace; they retained their independence, but the Athenian Maritime Union collapsed, cash reserves dried up, and the internal contradictions of the policy intensified. Athenian democracy managed to resist, but democratic ideals faded, free expression of will began to be suppressed by cruel measures, an example of this is the trial of Socrates (in 399 BC), which sentenced the philosopher to death. The spirit of cohesive citizenship is weakening, personal interests and experiences are isolated from public ones, and the instability of life is more disturbing. Critical sentiments are on the rise. A person, according to the testament of Socrates, begins to strive to "know himself" - himself, as a person, and not just as part of a social whole. The work of the great playwright Euripides is aimed at the knowledge of human nature and characters, in whom the personal principle is much more accentuated than in his older contemporary Sophocles. According to Aristotle, Sophocles "represents people as they should be, and Euripides as they really are."

In the plastic arts, generalized images still predominate. But the spiritual fortitude and vigorous energy that breathes the art of early and mature classics gradually give way to the dramatic pathos of Scopas or the lyrical, with a touch of melancholy, contemplation of Praxiteles. Skopas, Praxiteles and Lysippus - these names are associated in our mind not so much with certain artistic individuals (their biographies are unclear, and almost no original works of them have been preserved), but with the main currents of the late classics. Just like Myron, Policlet and Phidias personify the features of a mature classic.

And again, indicators of changes in attitude are plastic motives. The characteristic posture of the standing figure changes. In the archaic era, the statues stood completely straight, frontally. Mature classics revitalize and animate them with balanced, smooth movements while maintaining balance and stability. And the statues of Praxiteles - the resting Satyr, Apollo Saurocton - lean with lazy grace on pillars, without them they would have to fall.

The hip on one side is very strongly arched, and the shoulder is lowered low towards the hip - Rodin compares this position of the body with a harmonica when the bellows are compressed on one side and moved apart on the other. For balance, an external support is needed. This is the pose of dreamy relaxation. Praxiteles follows the traditions of Polykleitos, uses the motives of movements found by him, but develops them in such a way that a different inner content already shines through in them. The “wounded Amazon” Polikletai also leans on a half-column, but she could stand without it, her strong, energetic body, even suffering from a wound, stands firmly on the ground. Apollo of Praxiteles is not struck by an arrow, he himself aims at a lizard running along a tree trunk - the action, it would seem, requires strong-willed composure, nevertheless, his body is unstable, like a swaying stalk. And this is not an accidental detail, not a whim of a sculptor, but a kind of new canon in which the changed view of the world finds expression.

However, not only the nature of movements and postures changed in the sculpture of the 4th century BC. e. In Praxiteles, the circle of favorite topics becomes different, he leaves the heroic plots in " easy world Aphrodite and Eros. He carved the famous statue of Aphrodite of Cnidus.

Praxiteles and the artists of his circle did not like to depict the muscular torsos of athletes, they were attracted by the gentle beauty female body with soft flow volumes. They preferred the type of youth, - distinguished by "the first youth with effeminate beauty." Praxiteles was famous for the special softness of modeling and the skill of processing the material, the ability to convey the warmth of a living body in cold marble2.

The only surviving original of Praxiteles is the marble statue of Hermes with Dionysus, found in Olympia. Naked Hermes, leaning on a tree trunk, where his cloak was carelessly thrown, holds little Dionysus on one bent arm, and in the other a bunch of grapes, to which a child reaches (the hand holding the grapes is lost). All the charm of the pictorial processing of marble is in this statue, especially in the head of Hermes: the transitions of light and shadow, the subtlest “sfumato” (haze), which, many centuries later, Leonardo da Vinci achieved in painting.

All other works of the master are known only from references to ancient authors and later copies. But the spirit of Praxiteles' art wafts over the 4th century BC. e., and best of all it can be felt not in Roman copies, but in small Greek plastic, in Tanagra clay figurines. They were made at the end of the century in large quantities, it was a kind of mass production with the main center in Tanagra. (A very good collection of them is kept in the Leningrad Hermitage.) Some figurines reproduce the well-known large statues, others simply give various free variations of the draped female figure. The living grace of these figures, dreamy, thoughtful, playful, is an echo of Praxiteles' art.

Almost as little remains of the original works of the chisel Scopas, an older contemporary and antagonist of Praxiteles. The wreckage remains. But the wreckage says a lot. Behind them rises the image of a passionate, fiery, pathetic artist.

He was not only a sculptor, but also an architect. As an architect, Skopas created the temple of Athena in Tegea and he also supervised its sculptural decoration. The temple itself was destroyed long ago, still by the Goths; some fragments of sculptures were found during excavations, among them a wonderful head of a wounded warrior. There were no others like her in the art of the 5th century BC. e., there was no such dramatic expression in the turn of the head, such suffering in the face, in the gaze, such spiritual tension. In his name, the harmonic canon adopted in Greek sculpture is violated: the eyes are set too deep and the break in the superciliary arches is discordant with the outlines of the eyelids.

What was the style of Scopas in multi-figure compositions, show partially preserved reliefs on the frieze of the Halicarnassus Mausoleum - a unique building, ranked in antiquity among the seven wonders of the world: the peripter was hoisted on a high plinth and crowned with a pyramidal roof. The frieze depicted the battle of the Greeks with the Amazons - male warriors with female warriors. Skopas did not work on it alone, together with three sculptors, but, guided by the instructions of Pliny, who described the mausoleum, and by stylistic analysis, the researchers determined which parts of the frieze were made in the workshop of Scopas. More than others, they convey the intoxicating fervor of battle, "rapture in battle", when both men and women give themselves to him with equal passion. The movements of the figures are impetuous and almost lose their balance, directed not only parallel to the plane, but also inward, into depth: Scopas introduces a new sense of space.

The Maenad enjoyed great fame among contemporaries. Scopas depicted a storm of Dionysian dance, straining the whole body of Maenad, convulsively arching her torso, throwing her head back. The statue of Maenad is not designed for frontal viewing, it must be viewed from different sides, each point of view reveals something new: either the body is likened to a stretched bow with its arch, or it seems to be curved in a spiral, like a tongue of flame. One cannot help thinking: the Dionysian orgies must have been serious, not just entertainment, but really “crazy games”. The Mysteries of Dionysus were allowed to be held only once every two years and only on Parnassus, but at that time the frantic Bacchantes cast aside all conventions and prohibitions. To the beat of tambourines, to the sounds of tympanums, they rushed and whirled in ecstasy, driving themselves into a frenzy, loosening their hair, tearing their clothes. Maenad Skopas held a knife in her hand, and on her shoulder was a goat torn to pieces by her 3.

The Dionysian festivities were a very ancient custom, like the cult of Dionysus itself, but in art the Dionysian element had never erupted with such force, with such openness, as in the statue of Scopas, and this is obviously a symptom of the times. Now clouds were gathering over Hellas, and the reasonable clarity of the spirit was violated by the desire to forget, to throw off the fetters of restrictions. Art, like a sensitive membrane, responded to changes in the social atmosphere and transformed its signals into its own sounds, its own rhythms. The melancholic languor of the creations of Praxiteles and the dramatic impulses of Scopas are just a different reaction to the general spirit of the times.

The circle of Skopas, and possibly himself, owns a marble tombstone of a young man. To the right of the young man is his old father with an expression of deep thought, it is felt that he is wondering: why did his son leave in the prime of his youth, and he, the old man, remained to live? The son looks in front of him and no longer seems to notice his father; he is far from here, in the carefree Champs Elysees - the abode of the blessed.

The dog at his feet is one of the symbols of the underworld.

Here it is appropriate to say about Greek tombstones in general. There are relatively many of them, from the 5th, and mainly from the 4th century BC. e.; their creators are usually unknown. Sometimes the relief of the tomb stele depicts only one figure - the deceased, but more often his relatives are depicted next to him, one or two who say goodbye to him. In these scenes of farewell and parting, strong sorrow and grief are never expressed, but only quiet; sad thought. Death is rest; the Greeks personified it not in a terrible skeleton, but in the figure of a boy - Thanatos, the twin of Hypnos - sleep. The sleeping baby is also depicted on the young man's tombstone, in the corner at his feet. The surviving relatives look at the deceased, wanting to capture his features in memory, sometimes they take him by the hand; he (or she) himself does not look at them, and in his figure one feels relaxation, detachment. In the famous tombstone of Gegeso (end of the 5th century BC), a standing maid gives her mistress, who is sitting in an armchair, a box of jewels, Gegeso takes a necklace from it with a habitual, mechanical movement, but she looks absent and drooping.

Authentic tombstone of the 4th century BC. e. works of the Attic master can be seen in the State Museum fine arts them. A.S. Pushkin. This is the gravestone of a warrior - he holds a spear in his hand, next to him is his horse. But the posture is not at all militant, the members of the body are relaxed, the head is lowered. On the other side of the horse stands the one saying goodbye; he is sad, but one cannot be mistaken as to which of the two figures depicts the deceased, and which the living, although they seem to be similar and of the same type; Greek masters knew how to make the transition of the deceased into the valley of shadows feel.

The lyrical scenes of the last farewell were also depicted on funeral urns, where they are more laconic, sometimes just two figures - a man and a woman - shaking hands.

But even here it is always clear which of them belongs to the realm of the dead.

There is some special chastity of feeling in Greek tombstones with their noble restraint in expressing sadness, something completely opposite to Bacchic ecstasy. The young man's headstone attributed to Skopas does not break this tradition; it stands out from the others, in addition to its high plastic qualities, only by the philosophical depth of the image of the thoughtful old man.

For all the opposition of the artistic natures of Skopas and Praxiteles, both of them are characterized by what can be called an increase in picturesqueness in plastic - the effects of chiaroscuro, thanks to which the marble seems to be alive, which is emphasized every time by Greek epigrammatists. Both masters preferred marble to bronze (whereas bronze prevailed in the sculpture of the early classics) and achieved perfection in the processing of its surface. The strength of the impression produced was facilitated by the special qualities of the marble varieties used by the sculptors: translucence and luminosity. Parian marble let light through by 3.5 centimeters. Statues made of this noble material looked both human-alive and divine-incorruptible. Compared with the works of early and mature classics, late classical sculptures lose something, they do not have the simple grandeur of the Delphic Charioteer, there is no monumentality of the Phidiean statues, but they gain in vitality.

History has preserved many more names of outstanding sculptors of the 4th century BC. e. Some of them, cultivating lifelikeness, brought it to the edge beyond which genre and characterization begin, thus anticipating the tendencies of Hellenism. Demetrius of Alopeka was distinguished by this. He attached little importance to beauty and consciously sought to depict people as they are, without hiding large bellies and bald spots. Portraits were his specialty. Demetrius made a portrait of the philosopher Antisthenes, polemically directed against the idealizing portraits of the 5th century BC. e., - Antisthenes is old, flabby and toothless. The sculptor could not spiritualize ugliness, make it charming, such a task was impossible within the boundaries of ancient aesthetics. Ugliness was understood and portrayed simply as a physical handicap.

Others, on the contrary, tried to maintain and cultivate the traditions of mature classics, enriching them with great elegance and complexity of plastic motifs. This path was followed by Leohar, who created the statue of Apollo Belvedere, which became the standard of beauty for many generations of neoclassicists until the end of the 20th century. Johannes Winckelmann, author of the first scientific History of the Art of Antiquity, wrote: "The imagination cannot create anything that would surpass the Vatican Apollo with his more than human proportionality of a beautiful deity." For a long time this statue was regarded as the pinnacle of ancient art, the "Belvedere idol" was synonymous with aesthetic perfection. As is often the case, excessively high praises over time caused the opposite reaction. When the study of ancient art moved far ahead and many of its monuments were discovered, the exaggerated assessment of the statue of Leochar was replaced by an underestimation: they began to find it pompous and mannered. Meanwhile, the Apollo Belvedere is a truly outstanding work in its plastic merits; the figure and gait of the lord of the muses combine strength and grace, energy and lightness, walking on the ground, he at the same time soars above the ground. Moreover, its movement, in the words of the Soviet art critic B. R. Vipper, “is not concentrated in one direction, but, as it were, diverges in different directions in rays.” To achieve such an effect, the sophisticated skill of the sculptor was needed; the only trouble is that the calculation of the effect is too obvious. Apollo Leohara seems to invite you to admire its beauty, while the beauty of the best classical statues does not declare itself publicly: they are beautiful, but do not show off. Even Aphrodite of Cnidus Praxiteles wants to hide rather than demonstrate the sensual charm of her nakedness, and the earlier classical statues are filled with a calm self-contentment that excludes any demonstrativeness. Therefore, it should be recognized that in the statue of Apollo Belvedere, the ancient ideal begins to become something external, less organic, although in its own way this sculpture is remarkable and marks a high level of virtuoso skill.

A big step towards "naturalness" was made by the last great sculptor of the Greek classics - Lysippus. Researchers attribute it to the Argive school and assure that he had a completely different direction than in the Athenian school. In essence, he was a direct follower of her, but, having accepted her traditions, he stepped further. In his youth, the artist Evpomp answered his question: “Which teacher to choose?” - answered, pointing to the crowd crowding on the mountain: "Here is the only teacher: nature."

These words sunk deep into the soul of the young man of genius, and he, not trusting the authority of the Polykletian canon, took up the exact study of nature. Before him, people were sculpted in accordance with the principles of the canon, that is, in full confidence that true beauty consists in the proportionality of all forms and in the proportion of people of average height. Lysippus preferred a tall, slender figure. His limbs became lighter, taller.

Unlike Scopas and Praxiteles, he worked exclusively in bronze: fragile marble requires stable balance, while Lysippus created statues and statuary groups in dynamic states, in complex actions. He was inexhaustibly diverse in the invention of plastic motifs and very prolific; it was said that after finishing each sculpture, he put a gold coin in a piggy bank, and in total in this way he accumulated one and a half thousand coins, that is, he allegedly made one and a half thousand statues, some of very large sizes, including a 20-meter statue of Zeus. None of his works have survived, but a fairly large number of copies and repetitions, dating back either to the originals of Lysippus or to his school, give an approximate idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe style of the master. In terms of plot, he clearly preferred male figures, as he liked to portray the difficult exploits of husbands; Hercules was his favorite hero. In understanding the plastic form, the innovative conquest of Lysippus was the turn of the figure in the space surrounding it from all sides; in other words, he did not think of the statue against the background of any plane and did not assume one, the main point of view from which it should be viewed, but counted on going around the statue. We have seen that Scopas' Maenad was built on the same principle. But what was the exception with earlier sculptors became the rule with Lysippus. Accordingly, he gave his figures effective poses, complex turns and processed them with equal care not only from the front side, but also from the back.

In addition, Lysippus created a new sense of time in sculpture. The old classical statues, even if their postures were dynamic, seemed unaffected by the flow of time, they were outside of it, they were, they were at rest. The heroes of Lysippus live in the same real time as living people, their actions are included in time and transient, the presented moment is ready to be replaced by another. Of course, Lysippus had predecessors here too: one can say that he continued the traditions of Myron. But even the Discobolus of the latter is so balanced and clear in its silhouette that it seems to be “staying” and static compared to Lysippus Hercules fighting a lion, or Hermes, who sat down to rest on a roadside stone for a minute (just a minute!) flying on their winged sandals.

Whether the originals of these sculptures belonged to Lysippus himself or to his students and assistants is not exactly established, but undoubtedly he himself made the statue of Apoxyomenes, a marble copy of which is in the Vatican Museum. A young naked athlete, stretching his arms forward, scrapes off the adhering dust with a scraper. He was tired after the fight, slightly relaxed, even as if staggering, spreading his legs for stability. Strands of hair, treated very naturally, stuck to a sweaty forehead. The sculptor did everything possible to give maximum naturalness within the framework of the traditional canon. However, the canon itself has been revised. If we compare Apoxyomenes with Doryphorus Polykleitos, we can see that the proportions of the body have changed: the head is smaller, the legs are longer. Doryphorus is heavier and stockier compared to the flexible and slender Apoxyomenos.

Lysippus was the court painter of Alexander the Great and made a number of his portraits. There is no flattery or artificial glorification in them; the head of Alexander, preserved in the Hellenistic copy, is executed in the traditions of Scopas, somewhat reminiscent of the head of a wounded warrior. This is the face of a person who lives hard and hard, who does not easily get his victories. The lips are half open, as if breathing heavily, on the forehead, despite his youth, wrinkles lie. However, the classical type of face with proportions and features legitimized by tradition has been preserved.

The art of Lysippus occupies the border zone at the turn of the classical and Hellenistic eras. It is still true to classical concepts, but already undermines them from within, creating the ground for a transition to something else, more relaxed and more prosaic. In this sense, the head of a fist fighter is indicative, belonging not to Lysippus, but, perhaps, to his brother Lysistratus, who was also a sculptor and, as they say, was the first to use masks removed from the model’s face for portraits (which was widespread in Ancient Egypt, but completely alien to Greek art). It is possible that the head of the fist fighter was also made with the help of a mask; it is far from the canon, and far from the ideal ideas of physical perfection, which the Hellenes embodied in the image of an athlete. This fist fight winner is nothing like a demigod, just an entertainer for an idle crowd. His face is rough, his nose is flattened, his ears are swollen. This type of "naturalistic" images later became widespread in Hellenism; An even more unsightly fist fighter was sculpted by the Attic sculptor Apollonius already in the 1st century BC. e.

That which had previously cast shadows on the bright structure of the Hellenic world outlook came at the end of the 4th century BC. e .: the decomposition and death of the democratic policy. The beginning of this was laid by the rise of Macedonia, the northern region of Greece, and the actual capture of all Greek states by the Macedonian king Philip II. In the battle of Chaeronea (in 338 BC), where the troops of the Greek anti-Macedonian coalition were defeated, Philip's 18-year-old son, Alexander, the future great conqueror, participated. Starting with a victorious campaign against the Persians, Alexander advanced his army further east, capturing cities and founding new ones; as a result of a ten-year campaign, a huge monarchy was created, stretching from the Danube to the Indus.

Alexander the Great in his youth tasted the fruits of the highest Greek culture. His tutor was the great philosopher Aristotle, court painters - Lysippus and Apelles. This did not prevent him, having captured the Persian state and taking the throne of the Egyptian pharaohs, to declare himself a god and demand that he and in Greece be given divine honors. Unaccustomed to Eastern customs, the Greeks, chuckling, said: "Well, if Alexander wants to be a god, let him be" - and officially recognized him as the son of Zeus. The orientalization that Alexander began to instill was, however, a matter more serious than the whim of a conqueror intoxicated with victories. It was a symptom of the historical turn of ancient society from slave-owning democracy to the form that existed in the East from ancient times - to the slave-owning monarchy. After the death of Alexander (and he died young), his colossal, but fragile state fell apart, his military leaders, the so-called diadochi - successors, divided the spheres of influence among themselves. The states that arose under their rule were no longer Greek, but Greek-Oriental. The era of Hellenism has come - the unification under the auspices of the monarchy of Hellenic and Eastern cultures.

What are the features of ancient Greek sculpture?

Faced with Greek art, many prominent minds expressed genuine admiration. One of the most famous researchers of the art of ancient Greece, Johann Winckelmann (1717-1768) says about Greek sculpture: “Connoisseurs and imitators of Greek works find in their masterful creations not only the most beautiful nature, but also more than nature, namely, some ideal beauty of it, which ... is created from images sketched by the mind. Everyone who writes about Greek art notes in it an amazing combination of naive immediacy and depth, reality and fiction. In it, especially in sculpture, the ideal of man is embodied. What is the nature of the ideal? How did he fascinate people so much that the aged Goethe sobbed in the Louvre in front of the sculpture of Aphrodite?

The Greeks have always believed that only in a beautiful body can a beautiful soul live. Therefore, the harmony of the body, external perfection is an indispensable condition and the basis of an ideal person. The Greek ideal is defined by the term kalokagatiya(gr. kalos- lovely + agathos Kind). Since kalokagatiya includes the perfection of both bodily constitution and spiritual and moral disposition, then along with beauty and strength, the ideal carries justice, chastity, courage and reasonableness. This is what makes the Greek gods, sculpted by ancient sculptors, uniquely beautiful.

http://historic.ru/lostcivil/greece/gallery/stat_001.shtml The best monuments of ancient Greek sculpture were created in the 5th century. BC. But more have come down to us early works. Statues of the 7th-6th centuries BC are symmetrical: one half of the body is a mirror image of the other. chained poses, outstretched arms pressed against a muscular body. Not the slightest tilt or turn of the head, but the lips are parted in a smile. A smile, as if from within, illuminates the sculpture with an expression of the joy of life.

Later, during the period of classicism, the statues acquire a greater variety of forms.

There were attempts to comprehend harmony algebraically. The first scientific study of what harmony is, was undertaken by Pythagoras. The school, which he founded, considered questions of a philosophical and mathematical nature, applying mathematical calculations to all aspects of reality. Neither musical harmony, nor the harmony of the human body or architectural structure was an exception. The Pythagorean school considered the number to be the basis and the beginning of the world.

What does number theory have to do with Greek art? It turns out to be the most direct, since the harmony of the spheres of the Universe and the harmony of the whole world is expressed by the same ratios of numbers, the main of which are the ratios 2/1, 3/2 and 4/3 (in music, these are respectively an octave, fifth and fourth). In addition, harmony implies the possibility of calculating any correlation of parts of each object, including sculpture, according to the following proportion: a / b \u003d b / c, where a is any smaller part of the object, b is any large part, c is the whole. On this basis, the great Greek sculptor Polikleitos (5th century BC) created a sculpture of a spear-bearing young man (5th century BC), which is called “Dorifor” (“Spear-bearer”) or “Canon” - by the name of the work sculptor, where he, discussing the theory of art, considers the laws of the image of a perfect person. It is believed that the artist's reasoning can be attributed to his sculpture.

The statues of Polykleitos are full of intense life. Polikleitos liked to depict athletes at rest. Take the same "Spearman". This powerfully built man is full of self-esteem. He stands motionless in front of the viewer. But this is not the static rest of ancient Egyptian statues. Like a man who skillfully and easily controls his body, the spearman slightly bent one leg and shifted the weight of his body to the other. It seems that a moment will pass and he will take a step forward, turn his head, proud of his beauty and strength. Before us is a man strong, handsome, free from fear, proud, restrained - the embodiment of Greek ideals.

Unlike his contemporary Polikleitos, Myron liked to depict his statues in motion. Here, for example, is the statue "Discobolus" (V century BC; Thermae Museum Rome). Its author, the great sculptor Miron, depicted a beautiful young man at the moment when he swung a heavy disk. His motion-captured body is bent and tense, like a spring about to unfold. Trained muscles bulged under the elastic skin of the arm pulled back. Toes, forming a reliable support, deeply pressed into the sand. The statues of Myron and Polykleitos were cast in bronze, but only marble copies from ancient Greek originals made by the Romans have come down to us.

The Greeks considered Phidias the greatest sculptor of his time, who decorated the Parthenon with marble sculpture. His sculptures especially reflect that the gods in Greece are nothing but images of an ideal person. The best-preserved marble ribbon of the relief of the frieze is 160 m long. It depicts a procession heading to the temple of the goddess Athena - the Parthenon.

The sculpture of the Parthenon was badly damaged. And "Athena Parthenos" died in ancient times. She stood inside the temple and was unspeakably beautiful. The head of the goddess with a low, smooth forehead and rounded chin, neck and arms were made of ivory, and her hair, clothes, shield and helmet were minted from sheets of gold. Goddess in the form beautiful woman- the personification of Athens.

http://historic.ru/lostcivil/greece/gallery/stat_007.shtmlMany stories are associated with this sculpture. The created masterpiece was so great and famous that its author immediately had a lot of envious people. They tried in every possible way to threaten the sculptor and looked for various reasons why they could accuse him of something. It is said that Phidias was accused of concealing part of the gold given as material for the decoration of the goddess. As proof of his innocence, Phidias removed all the golden objects from the sculpture and weighed them. The weight exactly matched the weight of the gold given to the sculpture. Then Phidias was accused of atheism. The reason for this was the shield of Athena. It depicted the plot of the battle between the Greeks and the Amazons. Among the Greeks, Phidias portrayed himself and his beloved Pericles. The image of Phidias on the shield became the cause of the conflict. Despite all the achievements of Phidias, the Greek public was able to turn against him. The life of the great sculptor ended in a cruel execution.

The achievements of Phidias in the Parthenon were not exhaustive for his work. The sculptor created many other works, the best of which were the colossal bronze figure of Athena Promachos, erected on the Acropolis in about 460 BC, and the equally huge figure of Zeus in ivory and gold for the temple at Olympia. Unfortunately, there are no more authentic works, and we cannot see with our own eyes the magnificent works of art of Ancient Greece. Only their descriptions and copies remained. In many ways, this was due to the fanatical destruction of statues by believing Christians.

This is how you can describe the statue of Zeus for the temple in Olympia: A huge fourteen-meter god was seated on a golden throne, and it seemed that if he stood up, straightened his broad shoulders, it would become crowded in the vast hall and the ceiling would be low. The head of Zeus was decorated with a wreath of olive branches - a sign of the peacefulness of the formidable god. The face, shoulders, arms, chest were made of ivory, and the cloak was thrown over the left shoulder. The crown, the beard of Zeus were of sparkling gold.

Phidias endowed Zeus with human nobility. His handsome face, framed by a curly beard and curly hair, was not only stern, but also kind, the posture was solemn, majestic and calm. The combination of bodily beauty and kindness of soul emphasized his divine ideality. The statue made such an impression that, according to the ancient author, people, dejected by grief, sought solace in contemplating the creation of Phidias. Rumor has declared the statue of Zeus one of the "seven wonders of the world."

The works of all three sculptors were similar in that they all depicted the harmony of a beautiful body and a kind soul contained in it. This was the main trend of the time.

Of course, the norms and attitudes in Greek art have changed throughout history. The art of the archaic was more straightforward, it lacked the full of deep meaning of reticence that delights mankind in the period of the Greek classics. In the era of Hellenism, when a person lost a sense of the stability of the world, art lost its old ideals. It began to reflect the feelings of uncertainty about the future that reigned in the social currents of that time.

One thing united all periods of the development of Greek society and art: this, as M. Alpatov writes, is a special predilection for plastic arts, for spatial arts. Such predilection is understandable: huge stocks of diverse in color, noble and ideal material - marble - provided ample opportunities for its implementation. Although the majority of Greek sculptures were made in bronze, since marble was fragile, it was the texture of marble, with its color and decorative effect, that made it possible to reproduce the beauty of the human body with the greatest expressiveness. Therefore, most often "the human body, its structure and suppleness, its harmony and flexibility attracted the attention of the Greeks, they willingly depicted the human body both naked and in light transparent clothes."

ancient greek sculpture classic

Ancient Greek sculpture of the Classical period

Speaking about the art of ancient civilizations, first of all, we remember and study the art of Ancient Greece, and in particular its sculpture. Truly in this small beautiful country, this kind of art has risen to such a height that to this day it is considered the standard all over the world. The study of the sculptures of Ancient Greece allows us to better understand the worldview of the Greeks, their philosophy, ideals and aspirations. In sculpture, as nowhere else, the attitude towards man, who in ancient Greece was the measure of all things, is manifested. It is sculpture that gives us the opportunity to judge the religious, philosophical and aesthetic ideas of the ancient Greeks. All this makes it possible to better understand the reasons for such a rise, development and fall of this civilization.

The development of Ancient Greek civilization is divided into several stages - eras. First, briefly, I will talk about the Archaic era, since it preceded the classical era and "set the tone" in sculpture.

The archaic period is the beginning of the formation of ancient Greek sculpture. This era was also divided into early archaic (650 - 580 BC), high (580 - 530 BC), and late (530 - 480 BC). Sculpture - was the embodiment of an ideal person. She extolled his beauty, physical perfection. Early single sculptures are represented by two main types: the image of a naked young man - a kuros and a figure dressed in a long, tight-fitting tunic of a girl - a kora.

The sculpture of this era was very similar to the Egyptian. And this is not surprising: the Greeks, getting acquainted with the Egyptian culture and the cultures of other countries of the Ancient East, borrowed a lot, and in other cases found similarities with them. Certain canons were observed in the sculpture, so they were very geometric and static: a person takes a step forward, his shoulders are straightened, and his arms are lowered along the body, a stupid smile always plays on his lips. In addition, the sculptures were painted: golden hair, blue eyes, pink cheeks.

At the beginning of the classical era, these canons are still in effect, but later the author begins to move away from static, the sculpture acquires a character, and an event, an action often occurs.

Classical sculpture is the second era in the development of ancient Greek culture. It is also divided into stages: early classic or strict style (490 - 450 BC), high (450 - 420 BC), rich style (420 - 390 BC .), late classic (390 - c. 320 BC).

In the era of the early classics, there is a kind of life rethinking. The sculpture takes on a heroic character. Art is freed from those rigid frameworks that fettered it in the archaic era, this is the time of searching for a new, intensive development of various schools and trends, the creation of heterogeneous works. The two types of figures - kuros and kore - are being replaced by a much greater variety of types; sculptures tend to convey the complex movement of the human body.

All this is happening against the backdrop of a war with the Persians, and it was this war that so changed ancient Greek thinking. The cultural centers were shifted and now they are the cities of Athens, the Northern Peloponnese and the Greek West. By that time, Greece had reached the highest point of economic, political and cultural growth. Athens took a leading place in the union of Greek cities. Greek society was democratic, built on the principles of equal activity. All men inhabiting Athens, except for slaves, were equal citizens. And they all enjoyed the right to vote, and could be elected to any public office. The Greeks were in harmony with nature and did not suppress their natural aspirations. Everything that was done by the Greeks was the property of the people. Statues stood in temples and squares, on palestras and on the seashore. They were present on the pediments, in the decorations of temples. As in the archaic era, the sculptures were painted.

Unfortunately, Greek sculpture has come down to us mainly in fragments. Although, according to Plutarch, there were more statues in Athens than living people. Many statues have come down to us in Roman copies. But they are very crude compared to the Greek originals.

One of the most famous sculptors of the early classics is Pythagoras Rhegius. Few of his works have come down to us, and his works are known only from references to ancient authors. Pythagoras became famous for his realistic depiction of human veins, veins and hair. Several Roman copies of his sculptures have been preserved: “The Boy Taking Out a Splinter”, “Hyacinthus”, etc. In addition, he is credited with the famous bronze statue “Charioteer” found in Delphi. Pythagoras Regius created several bronze statues of Olympic and Delphic Games winners. And he owns the statues of Apollo - the Python-killer, the Abduction of Europe, Eteocles, Polyneices and the Wounded Philoctetes.

It is known that Pythagoras Regius was a contemporary and rival of Myron. This is another famous sculptor of that time. And he became famous as the greatest realist and expert in anatomy. But with all this, Miron did not know how to give the faces of his works life and expression. Miron created statues of athletes - winners of competitions, reproduced famous heroes, gods, and animals, especially when he portrayed difficult poses that looked very realistic.

The best example of such a sculpture of him is the world-famous Discobolus. Ancient writers also mention famous sculpture Marcia with Athena. This famous sculptural group has come down to us in several of its copies. In addition to people, Myron also depicted animals, his image of the “Cow” is especially famous.

Myron mainly worked in bronze, his works have not been preserved and are known from the testimonies of ancient authors and Roman copies. He was also a master of toreutics - he made metal goblets with relief images.

Another famous sculptor of this period is Kalamid. He performed marble, bronze and chryselephantine statues, and depicted mainly gods, female heroic figures and horses. The art of Calamis can be judged by the copy of a later time that has come down to us with the statue of Hermes carrying a ram he executed for Tanagra. The figure of the god himself is executed in an archaic style, with the immobility of the pose and the symmetry of the arrangement of the members characteristic of this style; but the ram carried by Hermes is already distinguished by a certain vitality.

In addition, the monuments of ancient Greek sculpture of the early classics include the pediments and metopes of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia. Another significant work of the early classics is the so-called Throne of Ludovisi. This is a three-sided marble altar depicting the birth of Aphrodite, on the sides of the altar are hetaeras and brides, symbolizing different hypostases of love or images of serving the goddess.

High classics is represented by the names of Phidias and Polykleitos. Its short-term heyday is associated with work on the Athenian Acropolis, that is, with the sculptural decoration of the Parthenon. The pinnacle of ancient Greek sculpture was, apparently, the statues of Athena Parthenos and Zeus Olympus by Phidias.

Phidias is one of the best representatives of the classical style, and it is enough to say about his significance that he is considered the founder of European art. The Attic school of sculpture headed by him occupied a leading place in the art of high classics.

Phidias possessed knowledge of the achievements of optics. A story has been preserved about his rivalry with Alkamen: both were ordered statues of Athena, which were supposed to be erected on high columns. Phidias made his statue in accordance with the height of the column - on the ground it seemed ugly and disproportionate. The neck of the goddess was very long. When both statues were erected on high pedestals, the correctness of Phidias became obvious. They note the great skill of Phidias in the interpretation of clothes, in which he surpasses both Myron and Polikleitos.

Most of his works have not survived; we can judge them only from the descriptions of ancient authors and copies. However, his fame was colossal. And there were so many of them that what is left is already a lot. The most famous works of Phidias - Zeus and Athena Parthenos were made in chrysoelephantine technique - gold and ivory.

The statue of Zeus in height, together with the pedestal, according to various sources, was from 12 to 17 meters. Zeus's eyes were the size of a grown man's fist. The cape that covered part of the body of Zeus, the scepter with an eagle in the left hand, the statue of the goddess Nike in the right and the wreath on the head are made of gold. Zeus sits on a throne, four dancing Nikes are depicted on the legs of the throne. Also depicted were: centaurs, lapiths, the exploits of Theseus and Hercules, frescoes depicting the battle of the Greeks with the Amazons.

Athena Parthenon was, like the statue of Zeus, huge and made in chrysoelephantine technique. Only the goddess, unlike her father, did not sit on the throne, but stood in full height. “Athena herself is made of ivory and gold ... The statue depicts her in full growth in a tunic to the very soles of her feet, she has the head of Medusa made of ivory on her chest, in her hand she holds the image of Nike, approximately four cubits, and in her other hand - - a spear. At her feet lies a shield, and near the spear is a snake; this snake is probably Erichthonius. (Description of Hellas, XXIV, 7).

The helmet of the goddess had three crests: the middle one with a sphinx, the side ones with griffins. According to Pliny the Elder, the battle with the Amazons was minted on the outside of the shield, the struggle of the gods with the giants on the inside, and on the sandals of Athena there was an image of a centauromachy. The base was decorated with a Pandora story. The goddess's chiton, her shield, sandals, helmet and jewelry are all made of gold.

On marble copies, the hand of the goddess with Nika is supported by a pillar, whether it existed in the original is the subject of numerous disputes. Nika seems tiny, in reality her height was 2 meters.

Athena Promachos - a colossal image of the goddess Athena, brandishing a spear, on the Athenian Acropolis. Erected in memory of the victories over the Persians. Its height reached 18.5 meters and towered over all the surrounding buildings, shining over the city from afar. Unfortunately, this bronze goddess did not survive to this day. And we know about it only from chronicle sources.

Athena Lemnia - a bronze statue of the goddess Athena, created by Phidias, is also known to us from copies. This is a bronze statue depicting a goddess leaning on a spear. Named - from the island of Lemnos, for the inhabitants of which it was made.

Wounded Amazon, the runner-up statue in the famous sculpting competition for the Temple of Artemis of Ephesus. In addition to the above sculptures, Phidias is also credited with others, according to style similarities: a statue of Demeter, a statue of Kore, a relief from Eleusis, Anadumen (a young man tying a bandage around his head), Hermes Ludovisi, Tiber Apollo, Kassel Apollo.

Despite the talent, or rather the divine gift, Phidias, his relationship with the inhabitants of Athens was not at all warm. As Plutarch writes, in his Life of Pericles, Phidias was the main adviser and assistant to Pericles (Athenian politician, famous orator and commander).

“Since he was a friend of Pericles and enjoyed great authority with him, he had many personal enemies and envious people. They persuaded one of Phidias' assistants, Menon, to denounce Phidias and accuse him of theft. Envy for the glory of his works weighed on Phidias ... When analyzing his case in the National Assembly, there was no evidence of theft. But Phidias was sent to prison and there he died of an illness.

Polikleitos the Elder - an ancient Greek sculptor and art theorist, a contemporary of Phidias. Unlike Phidias, he was not so large-scale. However, his sculpture has a certain character: Policlet liked to depict athletes at rest, he specialized in depicting athletes, Olympic winners. He was the first to think of giving the figures such a statement that they rested on the lower part of only one leg. Polikleitos knew how to show the human body in a state of balance - his human figure at rest or slow pace seems to be moving and animated. An example of this is the famous statue of Polikleitos "Dorifor" (spear-bearer). It is in this work that Poliklet's ideas about the ideal proportions of the human body, which are in numerical ratio with each other, are embodied. It was believed that the figure was created on the basis of the provisions of Pythagoreanism, therefore, in ancient times, the statue of Doryphoros was often called the "canon of Poliklet." The forms of this statue are repeated in most of the works of the sculptor and his school. The distance from the chin to the crown in the statues of Polykleitos is one seventh, while the distance from the eyes to the chin is one sixteenth, and the height of the face is one tenth of the whole figure. Polykleitos is strongly associated with the Pythagorean tradition. "Canon of Polykleitos" - a theoretical treatise of the sculptor, created by Polykleitos for other artists to use it. Indeed, the Canon of Polykleitos had a great influence on European culture, despite the fact that only two fragments of the theoretical work have survived, information about it is fragmentary, and the mathematical basis has not yet been finally deduced.

In addition to the spear-bearer, other works of the sculptor are also known: “Diadumen” (“Young man tying a bandage”), “Wounded Amazon”, a colossal statue of Hera in Argos. It was made in the chrysoelephantine technique and was perceived as a pandan to Olympian Zeus Phidias, "Discophorus" ("Young Man Holding a Disc"). Unfortunately, these sculptures have survived only in ancient Roman copies.

At the “Rich Style” stage, we know the names of such sculptors as Alkamen, Agoracritus, Callimachus, etc.

Alkamen, Greek sculptor, pupil, rival and successor of Phidias. It was believed that Alkamen was not inferior to Phidias, and after the death of the latter, he became the leading sculptor in Athens. His Hermes in the form of a herm (pillar crowned with the head of Hermes) is known in many copies. Nearby, near the temple of Athena Nike, there was a statue of Hecate, which consisted of three figures connected with their backs. On the acropolis of Athens, a group belonging to Alkamen was also found - Prokna, who raised a knife over her son Itis, who seeks salvation in the folds of her clothes. In the sanctuary on the slope of the Acropolis there was a statue of a seated Dionysus belonging to Alkamen. Alkamenes also created a statue of Ares for the temple in the agora and a statue of Hephaestus for the temple of Hephaestus and Athena.

Alkamen defeated Agoracritus in a competition to create a statue of Aphrodite. Even more famous, however, is the seated Aphrodite in the Gardens, at the northern foot of the Acropolis. She is depicted on many red-figure Attic vases surrounded by Eros, Peito and other embodiments of the happiness that love brings. Often repeated by ancient copyists, the head, called "Sappho", was probably copied from this statue. Last piece Alkamene is a colossal relief with Hercules and Athena. It is probable that Alkamen died shortly thereafter.

Agorakrit was also a student of Phidias, and, as they say, a favorite. He, like Alkamen, participated in the creation of the frieze of the Parthenon. The two most famous works Agoracrita - a cult statue of the goddess Nemesis (remade after the duel with Alkamen Athena), donated to the Ramnos temple and a statue of the Mother of the Gods in Athens (sometimes attributed to Phidias). Of the works mentioned by ancient authors, only the statues of Zeus-Hades and Athena in Coronea undoubtedly belonged to Agoracritus. Of his works, only part of the head of the colossal statue of Nemesis and fragments of the reliefs that adorned the base of this statue have survived. According to Pausanias, young Helen (daughter of Nemesis) was depicted on the base, with Leda who nursed her, her husband Menelaus and other relatives of Helen and Menelaus.

The general character of late classical sculpture was determined by the development of realistic tendencies.

Scopas is one of the major sculptors of this period. Skopas, preserving the traditions of the monumental art of high classics, saturates his works with drama, he reveals the complex feelings and experiences of a person. The heroes of Scopas continue to embody the perfect qualities of strong and valiant people. However, Scopas introduces into the art of sculpture the themes of suffering, internal breakdown. These are the images of wounded soldiers from the pediments of the temple of Athena Aley in Tegea. Plasticity, a sharp restless play of chiaroscuro emphasizes the drama of what is happening.

Scopas preferred to work in marble, almost abandoning the favorite material of the high classics - bronze. Marble made it possible to convey a subtle play of light and shadow, various textural contrasts. His Maenad (Bacchante), which has survived in a small damaged antique copy, embodies the image of a man possessed by a stormy outburst of passion. The dance of Maenad is swift, her head thrown back, her hair falling in a heavy wave over her shoulders. The movement of the curved folds of her tunic emphasizes the impetuous impulse of the body.

The images of Scopas are either deeply thoughtful, like a young man from the gravestone of the Ilissus River, or lively and passionate.

The frieze of the Halicarnassus mausoleum depicting the battle of the Greeks with the Amazons has been preserved in the original.

The impact of the art of Scopas on the further development of Greek plastic art was enormous, and it can only be compared with the impact of the art of his contemporary Praxiteles.

In his work, Praxiteles refers to images imbued with the spirit of clear and pure harmony, calm thoughtfulness, serene contemplation. Praxiteles and Scopas complement each other, revealing the various states and feelings of a person, his inner world.

Depicting harmoniously developed, beautiful heroes, Praxiteles also reveals connections with the art of high classics, but his images lose that heroism and monumental grandeur of the works of the heyday, but acquire a more lyrically refined and contemplative character.

The mastery of Praxiteles is most fully revealed in the marble group “Hermes with Dionysus”. The graceful curve of the figure, the relaxed posture of rest of the young slender body, the beautiful, spiritual face of Hermes are conveyed with great skill.

Praxiteles created a new ideal female beauty, embodying it in the image of Aphrodite, who is depicted at the moment when, having taken off her clothes, she is about to enter the water. Although the sculpture was intended for cult purposes, the image of the beautiful naked goddess was freed from solemn majesty. "Aphrodite of Cnidus" caused many repetitions in subsequent times, but none of them could compare with the original.

The sculpture "Apollo Saurocton" is an image of a graceful teenage boy who aims at a lizard running along a tree trunk. Praxiteles rethinks mythological images, features appear in them Everyday life, genre elements.

If in the art of Scopas and Praxiteles there are still tangible connections with the principles of the art of high classics, then in artistic culture, the last third of the 4th c. BC e., these ties are weakening more and more.

Macedonia acquires great importance in the socio-political life of the ancient world. Just like the war with the Persians, it changed and rethought the culture of Greece at the beginning of the 5th century. BC e. After the victorious campaigns of Alexander the Great and his conquest of the Greek policies, and then the vast territories of Asia, which became part of the Macedonian state, a new stage in the development of ancient society begins - the period of Hellenism. The transitional period from the late classics to the Hellenistic period itself is distinguished by peculiar features.

Lysippus is the last great master of the late classics. His work unfolds in the 40-30s. 5th century BC e., during the reign of Alexander the Great. In the art of Lysippus, as well as in the work of his great predecessors, the task of revealing the experiences of a person was solved. He began to introduce more clearly expressed features of age, occupation. New in the work of Lysippus is his interest in the characteristically expressive in man, as well as the expansion of the pictorial possibilities of sculpture.

Lysippus embodied his understanding of the image of a man in the sculpture of a young man who scrapes sand off himself after competitions - “Apoxiomen”, whom he depicts not at a moment of exertion, but in a state of fatigue. The slender figure of an athlete is shown in a complex turn, which forces the viewer to go around the sculpture. The movement is freely deployed in space. The face expresses weariness, deep-set shadowy eyes look into the distance.

Lysippus skillfully conveys the transition from a state of rest to action and vice versa. This is the image of the resting Hermes.

Of great importance was the work of Lysippus for the development of the portrait. In the portraits of Alexander the Great created by him, a deep interest in revealing the spiritual world of the hero is revealed. The most remarkable is the marble head of Alexander, which conveys his complex, contradictory nature.

The art of Lysippus occupies the border zone at the turn of the classical and Hellenistic eras. It is still true to classical concepts, but already undermines them from within, creating the ground for a transition to something else, more relaxed and more prosaic. In this sense, the head of a fist fighter is indicative, belonging not to Lysippus, but, possibly, to his brother Lysistratus, who was also a sculptor and was said to be the first to use masks removed from the model’s face for portraits (which was widespread in ancient Egypt, but completely alien to Greek art). It is possible that the head of the fist fighter was also made with the help of a mask; it is far from the canon, and far from the ideal ideas of physical perfection, which the Hellenes embodied in the image of an athlete. This fist fight winner is nothing like a demigod, just an entertainer for an idle crowd. His face is rough, his nose is flattened, his ears are swollen. This type of "naturalistic" images later became widespread in Hellenism; An even more unsightly fist fighter was sculpted by the Attic sculptor Apollonius already in the 1st century BC. e.

That which had previously cast shadows on the bright structure of the Hellenic world outlook came at the end of the 4th century BC. e .: the decomposition and death of the democratic policy. The beginning of this was laid by the rise of Macedonia, the northern region of Greece, and the actual capture of all Greek states by the Macedonian king Philip II.

Alexander the Great in his youth tasted the fruits of the highest Greek culture. His tutor was the great philosopher Aristotle, court painters - Lysippus and Apelles. This did not prevent him, having captured the Persian state and taking the throne of the Egyptian pharaohs, to declare himself a god and demand that he and in Greece be given divine honors. Unaccustomed to Eastern customs, the Greeks, chuckling, said: "Well, if Alexander wants to be a god, let him be" - and officially recognized him as the son of Zeus. However, Greek democracy, on which its culture grew, died under Alexander and was not revived after his death. The newly emerged state was no longer Greek, but Greco-Eastern. The era of Hellenism has come - the unification under the auspices of the monarchy of Hellenic and Eastern cultures.