In the Greek art of the 7th and 6th centuries BC, the representation of the human body followed a strict canon. One of the main sculptural types was the female figure clad in a long robe (kore): one foot is advanced, but the body can still be divided into two essentially equal halves (1–2). These statues may depict both a goddess or her worshipper: identification is possible only if she holds the attributes of a deity (2).
In the early 5th century BC, the representation of the human figure underwent revolutionary changes with the appearance of contrapposto (3–6), which exerted a lasting influence on Greek sculpture, and also on art outside Greece. The weight of the body is not equally carried by the two legs of the figure anymore. The youth (3), for example, leans on his left leg with his right leg bent. His posture also affects the upper body: both the hip and the shoulders shift from their normal axis. The youth holding a lyre and phiale is the worshipper of a god, but Apollo could also be represented this way.
Terracotta statuettes were produced in series (7–10). Quite often, only the front was pressed from a negative mould (11), and the back covered with a smooth clay panel (12–13). From the 4th century BC onwards, multi-part negatives (6) were used more and more often, which greatly enhanced the artistic potential of contrapposto.
In the early 5th century BC, the representation of the human figure underwent revolutionary changes with the appearance of contrapposto (3–6), which exerted a lasting influence on Greek sculpture, and also on art outside Greece. The weight of the body is not equally carried by the two legs of the figure anymore. The youth (3), for example, leans on his left leg with his right leg bent. His posture also affects the upper body: both the hip and the shoulders shift from their normal axis. The youth holding a lyre and phiale is the worshipper of a god, but Apollo could also be represented this way.
Terracotta statuettes were produced in series (7–10). Quite often, only the front was pressed from a negative mould (11), and the back covered with a smooth clay panel (12–13). From the 4th century BC onwards, multi-part negatives (6) were used more and more often, which greatly enhanced the artistic potential of contrapposto.
1/13. Female figure. Athens, early 5th century BC 
2/13. Artemis with bow and calf. Athens, ca. 500 BC 
3/13. Youth with lyre and phiale. Boeotia, mid-5th century BC 
4/13. Youth with a rooster. Boeotia, 400–375 BC 
5/13. Female figure with basket on her head. Athens, 4th century, BC 
6/13. Female figure with a fan, and a bird on her shoulder. Boeotia, 325–200 BC 
7/13. Enthroned goddess. Athens, 510–490 BC 
8/13. Enthroned goddess. Athens, 510–490 BC 
9/13. Enthroned goddess. Athens, 510–490 BC 
10/13. Enthroned goddess. Athens, 510–490 BC 
11/13. Female figure with a kalathos, negative mould. Taras, late 5th – early 4th century 
12/13. Female figure in peplos. Boeotia, mid-5th century BC 
13/13. Female figure in peplos. Boeotia, mid-5th century BC 
Tags
- Apollon;
- Archaic Period (700–480);
- Artemis;
- Athens;
- basket;
- Boeotia;
- Budapest, Museum of Fine Arts, Collection of Classical Antiquities;
- calathus (modius/polos);
- Classical Period (480–323);
- clay;
- female figure;
- Greek (culture);
- Hellenistic Period (Greek, 323–31);
- male figure;
- pottery;
- rooster;
- sculpture / statue;
- Tarentum / Taras (Taranto);