Classical Worlds Greek Sculpture
The Doryphoros, dates from 450-400 BC, it is a Roman marble copy of a Greek bronze sculpture and carved by the sculptor Polykleitos. The sculpture shows athleticism at its finest, it had a balanced figure with idealized proportions sculpted in the round. Doryphoros is one of the most classic sculptures from the high classical period. The Doryphoros is a very intellectual work. Our appreciation of the work, is also influenced by seeing the work only through later copies Temples or sanctuaries at the time were craving for more monumental statues bringing the legends and Gods to life.
The classical age saw for the first time human anatomy presented worthy of being portrayed in statue form. Sculptors portraying people in stiff positions was replaced with the modern three dimensional movements, so that people could view the beautiful dimensions of the body. It was the first time the body could be viewed as God like. Polykleitos produced an athlete sculpted an athlete like sculpture. The sculpture symbolizes the ideal male human form. All of the body parts are perfectly proportioned and the muscles are beautifully defined. Polyclitus’s view on proportion is so perfect it is recorded he made the Doryphoros as an example of proportion. Polyclitus’s wrote a book to accompany the statue; countless artists copied the statue because of its perfection. The original copy of the statue held a long spear in his left hand. The statue epitomized the Greek human ideal man.
The athletic body has perfect muscle and proportion. Polyclitus’s view of symmetry was probably influenced by exposure to the ideas of Pythagoras of Samos. The slight bend of Doryphoros in the leg gives an impression of movement, as if the image was frozen while walking. The counterpoised stance adds an air of nobility to the male form. The body is in parallel stance with the left leg slightly bent and the left foot slightly behind the right. The head is turned slightly downward and to the right, adding to the defined muscularity. These techniques used by Polykleitos produce the athletic male figure.
The Doryphoros is very intellectual work. Our appreciation of the work comes from the perfect symmetrical and well sculptured, athletic body, but also knowing the work only through latter copies. The original, like the other major pieces from the period, were produced from bronze, but because of it being bronze it melted down long ago. The effect of the original sculpture is perhaps copied in a pair of bronze figures discovered in 1972 off the coast of Italy. These sculptors have been dated to about the same time as Doryphoros.
