The Greeks adopted the statue-form of a youth stepping with his left foot forward from Egyptian art. These kouroi (“youths”) have a rigid stance, with a symmetrical torso. The fine asymmetries of the advancing gesture, however, loosen its stiffness: the right side of the body is wider, the right shoulder slightly raised. Locks of hair are not uniformly combed either.
On closer inspection the body seems finely carved. The shoulder is wide, the waist narrow, the collarbones stand out from the plane of the chest. The navel is indented, the abdominal muscles’ axis and the spine and ribs are indicated by thin lines. The shoulder blades are regular arcs.
Kouros statues were placed both in sanctuaries and on tombs.
Marble analyses conducted by Danielle Decrouez (Geneva, Museum of Natural History) and Karl Ramseyer (University of Bern, Institute of Geological Sciences) have shown that the statue was made of Prokonnesian (Marmara) marble. Click here for the detailed results.
