Marble statue of a kouros (youth) | All | Greek and Roman Art | Collection Database | Works of Art

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.

ProvenanceSaid to be from Attica (Richter 1931, p. 220).

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

Selected BibliographyRichter, G. M. A. 1932. "An Archaic Greek Statue." MMA Bulletin 27 (October): 218 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, 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.

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

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, p. 28, pl. 14.

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.

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

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

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