KOUROS AND KORE
Kouros and Kore represent the principal types of Archaic sculpture appear in Greece around 600 BC.
The kouros (plural kouroi) is a nude male statue standing with one foot forward and the kore (plural korai),
a clothed female statue standing with feet together.
Kleobi and Biton
Peplos Kore
Phrasikleia Kore
These characteristic statue types were set up in sanctuary as ex-votos or on graves as funerary statues.
They depict youths and were almost always approximately life-size (some much larger) and with few
exceptions were made of marble.
CARACTERISTICS OF KOUROS
The Greek kouros:
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Is the representation of a young man,
He has both feet planted firmly on the ground, with rigid knees, and the left leg placed slightly in
front of the other (the left foot advanced)
the arms are pendant and held closely to the body
exhibits an expression known as the "archaic smile" – an enigmatic sort of non-expression (no
individualization)
Shows an almost strict symmetry
the different parts of the anatomy are depicted as simple geometric forms
While many aspects of the kouroi directly reflect Egyptian influence—especially the application in
some kouroi of the contemporary Egyptian canon of proportions—they gradually took on
distinctly Greek characteristics. Unlike the Egyptian sculptures, the kouroi had no explicit religious
purpose, serving, for example, as tombstones and commemorative markers. They sometimes
represented the god Apollo, but they also depicted local heroes, such as athletes.
IMPORTANT KOUROI
KLEOBIS and BITON - ca. 580 BCE -Delphi museum
Form & Style: The stocky proportions and rounded forms are thought to be characteristic of the Argive
style(DORIC). To what extent the muscular appearance has been emphasized in order to characterize
them, especially if these figures represent the Argive heroes.
An inscription on the base of Statue of Kleobis, stating it was made by the sculptor [Poly]medes of
Argos.
(http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifact;jsessionid=373CE3B8D1DFC3B3F95253DB99FC7821?n
ame=Delphi%2C+Kleobis+and+Biton&object=Sculpture )
Read about the legend of Kleobis and Biton :
Found at Delphi, these statues are identified as funeral memorials to the mythical twins Kleobis and
Biton. The story goes that these sons pulled 45 stades a cart in place of Oxen to a festival of Hera, as
their mother Cydippe was a priestess of Hera, and her oxen were late, so without the help of her sons
she would be tardy. She was then so impressed by their devotion that she prayed to Hera to reward
them. Hera listened, and rewarded the sons by letting them die in their next sleep. It seems odd logic
to modern ears, but Greek culture prized the ‘beautiful death’, whereby one was killed in one’s prime,
and with as little damage to the body as possible, as it was thought that one retained ones injuries or
mutilations (which were common place on the battle field) into the Underworld.
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
1) Who are Kleobis and Biton?
2) Who is their mother?
3)Why their mother is so impressed?
4) Which is the reward ?
KOUROS OF MELOS – ca. 550 BCE
Athens- National Archeological Museum
Form & Style: Figures of Melos group style (IONIC) are simpler than before; their muscles are no
longer separately accentuated. There is a tendency to flowing contour and a generalization of form.
They are tall and thin.
MOSCOPHOROS - about 560 BCE
Form & Style: Marble sculpture showing a young man bringing a little cow. It is the most ancient
sculpture found at the Acropolis, made on about 560 B.C. by Rombos. The style is Attic, a combination
between doric and ionic style.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN CARACTERISTICS OF THIS STATUE?
Explain it orally
WRITE TRUE OR FALSE about the characteristics of archaic kouros:
1)stands in a frontal pose
2)represents an old man
3)the right foot is extended forward
4)the arms are attached or close to the hips
5) the pose is rigid
6)is dressed
7)here is a mysterious smile on his face
is a female statue
WHATCH THE VIDEO
http://arts-in-company.com/ArtHistorySurvey/05-greece/05-archaic/01-sculp/04-archaic-kouros-01.html
CARACTERISTICS OF KORE
By definition, Kore ( plural korai ) refers to statues depicting female figures, always of a young age, which
were created during the Archaic period (600 – 480 BCE) either as votive or commemorative statues.
The greek kore is:
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a draped female figure
carved from marble and originally painted
standing erect with feet together ( or sometimes with one foot, usually the left, slightly advanced)
The arms are sometimes down at the sides, but in most cases one is brought up closely across the front of
the body or is extended, holding an offering; the other is lowered, often clasping a fold of drapery.
In the earliest korai, the bodies are so blocklike that they hardly seem to represent feminine form.
Lady of Auxerre -640 BCE
Hera of Samos –ca.570/560BCE
kore of Berlin – ca.570 BCE
The garments worn by the kore figures changed from the heavy tunic, or peplos, to the lighter, more
graceful chiton, also a tunic; sometimes they wear the Ionian himation, a short, pleated mantle.
Lady of Auxerre -640 BCE
Hera of Samos –ca.570 BCE
Peplos kore-ca.530 BCE
The representation of the figure’s hair evolved also, from the early solid mass hanging at the sides and back
of the head to the separation of the top and sides into tresses.
Kore acr 674
The faces of early korai wear the Archaic smile.
A large number of Korai were found in the Acropolis in Athens.
IMPORTANT KORAI
Hera of Samo
Kore from the Heraion of Samos. Bears an inscription in Ionian alphabet: "Cheramyes dedicated me to
Hera, as a gift".
Marble, made in Samos, ca. 570–560 BC., Louvre Museum.
Dimensions H. 1.92 cm
MAIN CARACTERISTICS:
- A columnar figure, over life-size, carved in one piece with the plinth.
- Wears the Ionic chiton
- Also wears a himation
-The dedication by Cheramyes is written along the front edge of the base.
Peplos kore
( THE PEPLOPHOROS)
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H. 1.18 m not including plinth
Marble
The Peplos Kore was dedicated to the goddess Athena on the Akropolis in Athens c.530 BCE and now
stands in the Akropolis Museum.
The Peplos Kore is a female figure taking her name from the heavy wool garment she wears over a chiton.
Her dress is simple and rigid. It was originally ornamented with painted decoration. Traces of paint are still
visible on her eyes, lips and curly hair, which was held by a metal diadem.
Her mouth, although in an archaic smile, is soft and relaxed.
Antenor ‘s kore
H. 2.51m
Marble
Athens Acropolis Museum
This kore is larger than life and her dominating presence makes her goddess-like.
The carving emphasises the vertical axis, particularly the drapery which resembles fluting on a column, and
invites comparison to the architecture which would have been the backdrop to where she stood on the
Athenian Acropolis
. Her monumentality is augmented by her rather masculine physique, with square jaw and broad shoulders.
Her ankles however are very thin, and her eyes were inset with (probably) glass. These are techniques
common in bronze sculpture, rather than stone; perhaps the sculptor normally worked in metal. His name
may have been Antenor, as recorded on the inscription; it is however not certain that the base belongs to
the statue.
The original sculpture shows traces of red, blue and green painted decoration