The Beginning of the
Classical Style
In Greek Sculpture
By Cecelia Taylor-Hunt
List of Contents
1. Introduction: What is Classical Style?
2. The Possible Origins of the Classical Style and Examples
3. Brief information on three classical Periods and examples
4. Techniques and what to look for
5. Conclusion
ARTH 385
Art and Archaeology in the Classical World
Fall 2011
SUNY Potsdam
Due Date: November 29, 2011
Bibliography/Works Cited
Books:

Boardman, John. Greek Art. 4th edition. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1996.

Boardman, John, Jose Dorig, Werner Fuchs, and Max Hirmer. Greek Art and
Architecture. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1967.

Charbonneaux, Jean, Roland Martin, and Francois Villard. Classican Greek Art (480 330 B.C.). New York: George Braziller, Inc., 1969.
Journals/Magazines:

Tanner, Jeremy. "Nature, Culture and the Body in Classical Greek Religious Art." World
Archaeology. 33. no. 2 (2001): 257-276.

Hallet, C.H. "The Origins of the Classical Style in Sculpture." The Journal of Hellenic
Studies. 106. (1986): 71-84.

Richter, Gisela. "Recent Accessions of Classical Sculpture." The Metropolitan Mueum of
Art. 21. no. 11 (1926): 255-260.

Pedley, John. "Greek Art." Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies. 20. no. 1 (1994): 3253.

Cook, R.M. "Origins of Greek Sculpture." The Journal of Hellenic Studies. 87. (1967):
24-32.

Casson, Stanley. "Technique of Greek Sculpture." American Journal of Archaeology. 38.
no. 2 (1994): 280-284.

Agard, Walter. "What is "Classical" Sculpture?." The Classical Journal. 49. no. 8 (1954):
341-349.
Introduction: What is Classical Style Sculpture?
The word “sculpture” means a three-dimensional piece, in any size or shape, created by the
hands of an artist with the necessary tools and the devotion of hard work and dedication. For
almost 10,000 years, cultures across the globe developed their own techniques with art by
sculpture, wall paintings, ceramic vases, and temples by using the finest elements found from
volcanic activities to nearby or cities using different but primitive architecture. They’re different
from the modern day designs you would see in urban cities such as New York City, Chicago, and
Los Angeles.
Over time, a variety of art styles develop every number of years from the start to the
sudden downfall of any civilization. Various art critics occasionally refer to, the “Classical
Style”, as the main style that ancient Greek artists use for their life-sized sculptures. Let’s take a
look on how classical sculpture got its name. Classical, in Greek sculpture, means any amazing
sculpture that has shown innovations with art forms that were developed during the ancient
Greek civilization. Classical can mean other definitions, too.
It means that a piece of artwork that is distinguished as superior to the inferior 1. Historians
from earlier centuries used that term to classify works of literature2. The idealization of the face
and body is still there and it's presented as young and superior to anything that is inferior. The
innovations that I’m referring to are: the anatomy of humans and animals, the body poses, and
how sculptures are presented to the general public.
The Possible Origins of the Classical Style in Greek Sculpture:
Various academic journals that focus on art and archaeology show reports and research of
1
2
Walter Agard. What is Classical Sculpture? (pp. 341)
Agard: p. 341
the possible origins of Greek Sculpture’s classical style that goes back further than 2,500 years
ago. Researchers, Archaeologists, and art historians have started their research by trying to find
the origins of the Classical Style and made a number of possibilities: Egypt, Minoa, Mycenae,
and Archaic Greece. Although these civilizations are possible, there is another civilization,
which started the arrival of the archaic period from the post-Bronze age. It’s called the Daedalic
style – and I’ve never heard of this before, actually. It was also referred to as part of the Oriental
style because they were based on the Bronze Age. There are theories by other archaeologists
about the origins of classical Greek sculptures. Some claimed that it was from ancient Egypt;
others say that there is a different origin that was derived long after the end Egypt of civilization.
I’ve came across an article titled Origins of Greek Sculpture, The Journal of Hellenic
Studies’ 1967 article written by R.M. Cook which explains the very start of the entire formation
of the Greek sculpture. The earliest Greek sculpture is in a Daedalic style. It’s derived from a
sculptor named Daedalus and the word Daedalica3. This style came about in the seventh century
before Common Era (B.C.E.) after the Bronze Age had ended. The main features of a Daedalic
sculpture are: geometric proportions, wavy hair, keen nose, and a slim and slender body. The
sculptures are mostly small and perfectly fitted to be placed on shelves in houses. The Daedalic
period was classified as the Oriental period because the designs of the sculptures were adapted
from the East, in cities such as Crete and Cyclades4. A lot of the sculptures with this style were
made with either terracotta or limestone5.
Another feature of the early Greek sculpture is the use of Egyptian profiles. Statues of
Egyptian Gods and Goddesses such as Anubis, Ra, and Horus have very different positions of
3 R.M.
Cook. Origins of Greek Sculpture. P. 24
R.M. Cook; p. 28
5 Ancient Greek sculpture: http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/antiquity/greek-sculpture.htm
4
how they are presented. Most statues use a footing position, where it feels like they’re walking6.
One foot and leg is placed forward, while the other side is implanted firmly to the floor or is
placed slightly further in the back away from the opposite side7. The head and the face have
slight detail, but not enough to create realism. The profile is facing the front; arms are either
straight or hanging down sideways leaving space for the sides of the body. The hands are in a
very tight grip and they’re still and Straight line position. Most of the statues are over life-sized
or small-sized.
While looking through some of the pictures from the Daedalic Period, I have found that
this kind of style is similar to the Archaic style, which arrived in the sixth century before
Common Era8. The Archaic style Greece uses art forms from other cultures such as Egypt,
Minoa, and Mycenae. During that time, the statues were still being developed with different
styles. They were also used as monuments (particularly as a tribute to someone who has passed
on or as a gift to somebody that is worthy to be respected)9. The features of the Archaic sculpture
are stiff and straight positions, geometric positions of the body parts, long hair with wavy lines,
and the Archaic smile.
Archaic sculptures tend to focus mostly on male figures known as Kouros and Kroisos.
The majority of the male figure sculptures are in nudity. Some of the female figures are focused,
too, and they are known as the Kore or Korai. When the sculptures were excavated centuries to a
millennium later, archaeologists have found that the Korai mini-statues were filled with
important females in full clothing, without any chances of showing nudity whatsoever.
The examples of Archaic male sculptures would by the New York Kouros (“boy” in
6
Ibid. p. 24
R.M. Cook; p. 24
8 http://www.ime.gr/chronos/04/en/culture/321arts_sculp_daedalic.html
9 Jeremy Tanner. Nature, culture and the body in classical Greek religious art: 265
7
Greek) and the Anavysos Kroisos (“man” in Greek)10. The New York Kouros has influences
from monumental statues of Egypt and the slim/slender body from the Daedalic style. The left
foot is bought forward while the right foot is placed in the back, as if the statue is walking toward
something or going somewhere. Archaic Greek artists where experimenting with the anatomy of
the body before the Early Classical period. The anatomy of the New York Kouros is mostly
sketchy and not up to the realm of how the anatomy of the human body is viewed. Parts of the
body have geometric lines on the kneecaps, abdomen, and the facial features.
The second example, Anavysos Kroisos, shows some advancements of human anatomy on
the surface. The abdomen and chest stray away mostly from the blocky/sketchy features from
previous sculptures of the New York Kouros. In Greece, the artists who made nude male
sculptures believed that men are comparing themselves to the Greek Gods such as Zeus,
Poseidon, and Apollo. Kore or Korai means young woman/women in Greek. As I mentioned
earlier, the sculptures of archaic females are known for being fully covered in their garments.
Examples of this would be the Peplos Kore and the Kore of 500 BCE (Athenian Akropolis)11.
The Peplos Kore is fully clothed with flat less-detailed dress from top to bottom. The full
dress shows where there are design lines, but do not give much depth to the clothing. The Kore
of 500 BCE is a great example of much detailed drapery called the mantle12. The garment folds
and facial features of the sculptures strayed away from the flat drapery shown in the Peplos
Kore, where the designs are flat. In Archaic sculptures, a variety of garments were a mixture of
abstracted lines presenting the fold or creases of clothing.
Brief Information on Three Classical Periods (Early, High and Late) and Examples:
10
R.M. Cook; p. 25
John Boardman. Greek Art (1996): 92-93
12 Boardman: 87
11
These periods in of the Classical style are the main subtopics in studying the human body
on the surface in Greek sculpture. First, let’s start with the Early Classical period. The Early
Classical period lasted between 480 to 450 BCE. During these years, more advancement was
upgraded from the Archaic Style and the Ancient Greek artists are still experimenting with the
sculptures. Two new features of Greek sculptures were being experimented in the Early Classical
period: severe style and contrapposto. Severe style is another term for this time period. It also
means that it uses advancements and balance of the sculpture to cover the previous features of
Archaic art. Contrapposto is a technique where a sculpture is a positioned with an S-Curved
shape. The hip is shifted, so are the legs, to a slightly different angle to give the edge of the letter
“S” so the body can adjust itself to this position13.
In the Early Classical period, pediment sculptures are the most amazing to see. There are
mostly found in famous museums nowadays, particularly in the British Museum. During
excavations of Greek temples that were built during that time period, archaeologists have taken
their time to together piece information and the broken parts of pediment sculptures. Some of
them have facial features that did not survive, while others have broken and missing pieces that
were destroyed over the years. For example, archaeologists constructed the pediment sculptures
from the Temple of Aphaia at Aigina after their excavation.
Changes of style in Greek sculpture were present as well. The Temple of Aphaia at
Aigina’s pediments shows different styles. The West pediment of the temple has the soldiers
made in Archaic style. A young soldier in a reclining figure is holding an arrow from his chest
and bears the Archaic smile. The East pediment shows the Early Classical style of soldiers with
some development of the anatomy. A bearded soldier in a reclining figure is holding a warrior’s
shield and facing down to the floor. The East pediment is about the first Trojan War and the
13
C.H. Hallett. The Origins of the Classical Style in Sculpture: 72-73
West pediment is about the 2nd Trojan War14.
Of course, Early Classical sculptures are well known for idealization with a mixture of
the human anatomy that was still early for the time. Try the statues from the Temple of Zeus at
Olympia as a new example: Zeus and Athena. Although they were destroyed, reconstructions by
artists would give some background information on what the statues probably looked like.
Another feature of early classical sculptures is that the majority of the scenes are based on Greek
mythology as a tribute to an actual event that the Greeks were part of. The temple of Zeus at
Olympia’s East and West pediments did just that. Usually, when it comes to having a major
victory or a major devastation for Athens, the Greeks decided to use their mythology as a
substitute to present the wars (they were part of) against other parties from other city-states.
The west pediment is from a Greek myth called Lapiths vs. Centaurs. Lapiths are humans
while the Centaurs are men with the lower body of a bull and the upper body of a human 15. The
teams were fighting in a wedding and the Greek god Apollo is stopping this chaos. The sculpture
of Apollo is half-naked and it was placed in the middle of the fighting scene around the time the
Temple of Zeus at Olympia was constructed. It was based on an actual event: the Athenians
against the Persians in the Peloponnesian War. The East pediment is from a Greek myth about a
chariot race and Pelops’ battle against Oenomaos16.
The contrapposto, as I’ve mentioned earlier, was used as one of the starting points of
Early classical sculpture. My great examples of the contrapposto would be the Kritios Boy and
the Riace Brothers – all made during the short lifespan of that art period17. The Kritios Boy looks
similar to the New York Kouros and the Anavysos Kouros altogether, except there were
14
Boardman: 94-95
15
The entire body of the centaur is now used as a zodiac sign for Sagittarius.
16
John Boardman. P. 136
Boardman: 14
17
differences of this statue. It has the contrapposto, the anatomy of a young teenager, and the
idealization of the facial features. There are no expressions within the face, but the youthful look
is shown to be the most appealing.
Another example of the popularity with the contrapposto is the Riace bronzes18. They were
made towards the end of the Early classical and just before the start of the High Classical period.
The use of Bronze has made it possible for sculptors to experiment with the surface anatomy of
humans and animals. Sculptors’ usages of this material made more possible to give the image of
the statue from the artists’ point of views. The artist molds the sculpture first, and then it’s heated
in high temperatures.
The High Classical period is where Greek sculpture is at its peak between 450 to 400
BCE19. The contrapposto is still being used and a few extra features were added Friezes and
reliefs from Greek temples show some extra advancements that are a little different from the
temples built in the Early classical. An example of these extra advancements would be the friezes
from a Greek temple called the Parthenon, which is considered by tourists an amazing sight to
visit. It’s located at the Akropolis in Athens, Greece. This Doric temple has a variety of the
friezes at the Parthenon ranging from Greek mythology to tributes of Athenian men themselves.
The friezes have interchangeable faces and more motion of the body20.
For example, the Battle of the Lapith and the Centaur at the Parthenon shows different
facial expressions to each other, but the activity of their body languages stands out. It shows the
two characters fighting, but their bodies overlap with each other. The three-dimensional position
is effective because of the deep carvings of the frieze and the characters (Lapith and Centaur).
When viewing a frieze from the Greek temple, a visitor tries to view it as a book filled with pop-
18
19
Boardman; p. 15
John Pedley. Greek Art: 33-34
outs from different pages (i.e. - children's book on dinosaurs). Unfortunately, some of the heads
from this frieze did not survive, but the rest of the bodies did. The features that were added to the
Parthenon is: images from Greek mythology and the experimentation of spaces and overlapping
of characters.21
Life-sized sculptures for the public ground in Athens were a big deal, especially for the
Parthenon. It can be used for the public to gather idolization from the viewers or it can be used
for worship while placed inside a Greek temple for viewing. About the Parthenon, Phidias, who
was the supervisor of Iktinos and Kallikrates' architecture of the temple, built an over life-sized
statue of Athena Pantheos, made with gold and some of the finest materials imported outside
Athens. A smaller copy of the statue is the Varvakion Statues of Athena, made in Rome22. The
presentation of Athena is this: wearing a heavy garment, carrying a spear and a shield, wearing a
helmet, and looking slightly idealized.
Athena is usually covered heavily in her own clothes. Another example of the garment
folds is the East pediment sculptures of the Parthenon. The reclining figures of three women,
could be Aphrodite and her team, were in wet drapery showing countless lines of their clothes.
Wet drapery styles show off the lines and shapes of surface anatomy of a female's body.
Pediment sculptures at the Parthenon looked slightly different from Early Classical temples
because of the change-ups during the Classical periods.
The Late Classical is considered as the final stages of the Greek Classical style in Athens, as
sculptors continue to use the contrapposto, severe style, and influences. There's the Antikythera
Bronze, found in Antikythera, Greece23. It's a life-sized statue that is made with Bronze, a
20
Ibid. 144-145
Boardman: 150-151
22 Ibid. 151
23 Jean Charbonneaux, et al. Classical Greek Art (480-330 B.C.): pp, 194-196
21
material that is easier for the sculptor to manipulate the statue's poses and anatomy. The
Antikythera Bronze is based on a Greek myth. Perseus is holding a sword on his left hand while
carrying the head of Medusa with his right hand (Medusa is a Greek mythological figure with an
evil streak and has snakes as locks of her hair)24. When this statue was found during an
excavation, there were no items in Perseus' hands (sword and Medusa's head). The artist used a
contrapposto style with this bronze statue, only this time, it's the backwards "S" curve.
A new feature from the Late Classical is the canon of proportions. The canon of
proportions is used as an attempt to measure the size of a human by seven or eight heads,
depending on how tall the human body is. Greek artist Lysippos used the canon of proportions
with some optical illusions, like the Apoxymenos statue (man scraping himself).25 A feature of
this statue is when two arms are put forward the body while in a contrapposto stance. Greek
artists were still attempting some realism with their Late Classical style, but still grounded to the
idealizations of the face and body at the same time.
Female sculptures that are slightly life-sized are extremely rare to find from the Classical
Greek periods, even though Archaic sculptures of females were easy to find from earlier
excavations from the 19th and the 20th centuries alone. Greek artist and architect Praxiteles
created the Aphrodite of Knidos to examine and experiment further with the female nude in a
Classical Style. He used the contrapposto by making the entire body have an “S” curve, only
backwards. It’s interesting to note that the Aphrodite of Knidos is one of the few first female
nude sculptures (if not the first) at a time where Classical Greek sculptures were consisted in the
majority of male nude or half-naked statues in Athens.26
In the Late Classical period, Greek artists were experimenting with another art medium by
24
25
Ibid. 194-196
Boardman: 177
using Classical Styles but more action and perspective: Wall painting. Here’s a great example of
Greek wall painting. In the town of Verginia (located in Greece), there were wall paintings of
Greek mythological figures and stories all over tombs, such as the Tomb of Lefkadia 27. One of
the wall paintings was Hades carrying out the body of Persephone. The body of Hades is painted
like he is coming out of the wall flying. Greek artists were experimenting with perspectives
before the Roman Republic adapted their influences with their four Pompeii Styles of painting.
The transformation from the Classical style in Greece is shown through the sculptures
from the Hellenistic, a period where drama, theatrics, and tragedy were shown in Greek statues individually or in small groups. Much more overlapping of human figures and animals are
common because of the deep carvings and stop action of them. Facial features of humans were
shown with less idealization, except the male bodies were in nude and the female bodies were in
clothing.28
Techniques and What to Look For with the Classical Style in Greek Sculpture:
To know how anyone can tell if a sculpture bears the Classical Style, there are ways you
can detect, identify, and understand the history behind each art piece. Regardless of size or
shape, it will be easy for the viewer to know the signs of how can an art piece possess a Classical
influence. Here are three ways on how I can find the features of a sculpture in a Classical Style.
There’s the idealization of the body parts and facial features. The word ‘idealization’ means
anything that is considered beautiful to the public – a leader, a god, goddess, or anyone that is
highly important to people. Parts of the body of a piece of artwork can be identified as idealized,
from the facial features and anatomical features to the body poses presented from an artist’s point
26
John Boardman, et al. Greek art and Architecture: 470-480
Boardman: 253-257
28 John Boardman, et al. Greek art and Architecture: 510-515
27
of view or perception. When a Greek artist from any of the three Classical Periods carves or
molds a face of a statue, life-sized or mini-sculptures used for altars and temples, the artist tends
to make the face mostly youthful on purpose. There are less signs of aging lines and realism in
Classical art. Soon, it became the opposite of Verism by Etruscan and (later) Roman artists.29
Body poses take a whole new level with any Greek Classical sculpture. With the use of the
contrapposto and the reclining figure, these features give individual or group sculptures different
definitions of the surface. The reclining figure is when a sculpture is positioned as laying down
onto the ground. The best examples of that, in my opinion, are the pediment sculptures from the
High Classical period. Let’s take The Temple of Zeus at Olympia, for example. In the corners of
two pediments, East and West, figures in a reclining form are often in a position where half the
body is grounded to the floor and the other half is slightly lifted up from the floor. It’s described
as a human being relaxing while laying or sitting down onto the floor.
Even with the explanation of idealization and body poses, there is something very important
along with the two features. I’ve read an article from The Classical Journal titled What is
“Classical” Sculpture, written by Walter R. Agard for the May 1954 issue. It’s great article that
goes in depth about the use of the classical style before its highest peak of the High and Late
Classical periods. To characterize the sculpture as Greek Classical style, there are some elements
to look out for. One: A healthy human form; Two: Naturalism and simple designs; Three:
Amplification of essential planes; Finally, four: Refinement of Details.30
The first one to look for, according to Agard, is the human form that looks ‘healthy’. Greek
artists were highly interested in the athletic prospects of the human body – muscular, slim, and
flexible. Their goal is to make the sculpture of a model physically attractive and beautiful to the
29
30
Gisela M.A. Richter. Recent Accessions of Classical Sculpture: 259
Agard: p. 343
public eye. When Greek artists are making statues of male minors who are in their teens, the
features of muscles and youthful looks are given while spending their time constructing them.
The second one is the synthesis of naturalism and simple designs. Human figures from the 7th to
6th century BCE were in terms naturalistic with geometric and oriental forms, including the use
of abstract lines. The statues from the Daedalic and Archaic style show constraints by making the
subject very still facing forward31. The third one to look for is the amplification of essential
planes. The expansions of surface modeling and or carving have made unnecessary details
disappear32 since the Early Classical period.
The fourth and final one to look for is the refinement of details. After a sculptor has
completed his work, the creation must be well taken care of for many years to come. To do that,
the sculptor chips away the excess space by using chisels for clearing corners. Second, he
refurnishes the rough surface (smoothing out the surfaces) by using some materials to brush and
glide across33. Third, he’s examining his piece to make sure if there’s anything to add on to the
sculpture before making it viewable to the public.
Conclusion:
I have found this information extensive and large, but very useful for me. The most
important thing that I have learn while writing this, Greek art as a study goes a lot further than
what it’s given inside classrooms and museums altogether. What I’ve learned from the research is
that it’s easy to distinguish what is classicism and what is realistic. Even though the bodies of
Greek classical sculptures are very close to realistic athletic bodies, the faces shows the youthful
looks and not the realistic aspects that Roman artists have used centuries later.
31
John Boardman, et al. Greek art and Architecture: 147-146
Agard: 343
33 Stanley Casson. Technique of Greek Sculpture: 283
32