Marble statue of a kouros (youth)

Period:
Archaic
Date:
ca. 590–580 B.C.
Culture:
Greek, Attic
Medium:
Marble, Naxian
Dimensions:
H. without plinth 76 5/8 in. (194.6 cm); H. of head 12 in. (30.5 cm); length of face 8 7/8 in. (22.6 cm); shoulder width 20 5/16 in. (51.6 cm)
Classification:
Stone Sculpture
Credit Line:
Fletcher Fund, 1932
Accession Number:
32.11.1
  • Description

    This kouros is one of the earliest marble statues of a human figure carved in Attica. The rigid stance, with the left leg forward and arms at the side, was derived from Egyptian art. The pose provided a clear, simple formula that was used by Greek sculptors throughout the sixth century B.C. In this early figure, geometric, almost abstract forms predominate, and anatomical details are rendered in beautiful analogous patterns. The statue marked the grave of a young Athenian aristocrat.

  • Provenance

    Said to be from Attica

    Acquired October 6, 1931, purchased from Jacob Hirsch, New York.

  • References

    Richter, Gisela M.A. 1932. "An Archaic Greek Statue." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 27(10): pp. 217-23, figs. 1-4.

    "Editorial Comment." 1932. American Journal of Archaeology 36 (October-December): 381, pl. A.

    Beazley, J. D., and B. Ashmole. 1932. Greek Sculpture and Painting to the End of the Hellenistic Period. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 20, fig. 34.

    Richter, Gisela M. A. and with an appendix by Irma A. Richter. 1934–1936. "The Archaic 'Apollo' in the Metropolitan Museum". Metropolian Museum Studies 5: pp. 20-57, figs. 1-14, 23.

    Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1936. A Guide to the Collections, Part 1: Ancient and Oriental Art, 2nd edn. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

    Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1939. Guide to the Collections: Ancient and Oriental Art Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Greek and Roman Far Eastern, Near Eastern Oriental Armor. Vol. 1, World's Fair Edition. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

    Richter, G. M. A. 1942. Kouroi: A Study of the Development of the Greek Kouros from the Late Seventh to the Early Fifth Century B.C. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 63-66, no. 1, pls. VI-VIII, figs. 19-26, XIII, fig. 42, XX, fig. 67, CXXXII, figs. 448-50.

    Richter, Gisela M. A. 1950. The Sculpture and Sculptors of the Greeks, 3rd edn. New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 53, 346, fig. 18.

    Taylor, Francis Henry. 1952. "The Archaic Smile: A Commentary on the Arts in Times of Crisis." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 10(8): p. 223.

    Richter, Gisela M. A. 1953. Handbook of the Greek Collection. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, pp. 47, 193, pl. 33.

    Richter, Gisela M. A. 1954. Catalogue of Greek Sculptures. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, no. 1, pp. 1-2, pls. 1-3.

    Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1970. Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries. New York: Dutton.

    Hoving, Thomas P.F. 1970. "Director's Choice." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 28(5): pp. 202-3.

    Richter, Gisela M.A. 1970. "The Department of Greek and Roman Art: Triumphs and Tribulations." Metropolitan Museum Journal 3: pp. 82, 85, fig. 17.

    Avery, Catherine B. 1972. The New Century Handbook of Greek Art and Architecture. New York: Appleton Century Crofts, p. vii, pl. 1.

    Robertson, M. 1975. A History of Greek Art. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 45f., pl. 10a.

    Levi, Peter. 1980. Atlas of the Greek World. Oxford: Phaidon Press, p. 70.

    Reuterswärd, Patrik. 1980. Studien zur Polychromie der Plastik. Stockholm: Phaidon Press, pp. 45, n. 75, 66.

    Guralnick, E. 1981. "Proportions of Korai." American Journal of Archaeology 85: 270, n. 12, 278.

    Guralnick, E. 1985. "Profiles of Kouroi." American Journal of Archaeology 89: 401-2, 403, 404-5, 408-9, figs. 2, 3.

    The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1987. Greece and Rome. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, no. 14, pp. 9, 28-29.

    Himmelmann, N. 1989. Herrscher und Athlet: Die Bronzen vom Quirinal. Milan: Olivetti and A. Mondadori, pp. 69, 70, 74, pls. 25a, 25b.

    Stewart, A. 1990. Greek Sculpture: An Exploration. New Haven: Yale University Press, vol. 1, pp. 34, 108-9, 111-12, pls. 42, no. 3, 43, no. 3, 49-55.

    1994. Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide: Works of Art Selected by Philippe De Montebello. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

    Métraux, Guy P. R. 1995. Sculptors and Physicians in Fifth Century Greece: A Preliminary Study. Montréal: McGill Queen's University Press, fig. 13.

    Bol, Peter C. 1997. Liebieghaus Museum alter Plastik. Fuhrer durch die Sammlungen: Griechische und Romische Plastik. Frankfurt am Main: Druckerei Stritzinger, Dreieich and Liebieghaus Skulpturen Sammlung, p. 37, Abb. 18.

    Picón, Carlos A., et al. 1999. "Pleins feux sur l'art grec et romain." Connaissance des arts, no. 566: 86.

    Coscia, Joseph, Jr. and Elizabeth J. Milleker. 2003. Light on Stone: Greek and Roman Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a Photographic Essay. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 95, pls. 1-5.

    Höckmann, Ursula. 2004. “Werke zyprischer Bildhauer im griechischen Naukratis. Eine Kourosstatuette in Oxford” in: Sepulkral- und Votivdenkmäler östlicher Mittlelmeergebiete (7. Jahrhundert v.Chr. - 1. Jahrhundert n.Chr.): Kulturbegegnungen im Spannungsfeld von Akzeptanz und Resistenz. Akten des Internationalen Symposiums Mainz, 1-3.11.2001, eds. Renate Bol, Detlev Kreikenbom Mönnesee: Bibliopolis, p. 63 n. 26.

    Picón, Carlos A., et al. 2007. Art of the Classical World in The Metropolitan Museum of Art: New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, no. 67, pp. 70-71, 419.

    2007. "The Coloring of Archaic and Early Classical Sculpture". Gods in Color: Painted Sculpture of Classical Antiquity, edited by Carlos A.

    Picón and Richard Daniel de Puma. Cambridge: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 32 33, fig. 26, Mislabeled with accession number "32.11.11".

    Carter, Jane B. and Laura J. Steinberg. 2010. "Kouroi and Statisics". American Journal of Archaeology: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 107, fig. 2.

    Mertens, Joan R. 2010. How to Read Greek Vases. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 46, 66, fig. 30.

    Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2012. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 64.

  • See also
130013862

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