Gardners Art through the Ages A Global History

convention, the Greek artist signaled a very different intention from

any Egyptian counterpart.

ANAVYSOS KOUROSSometime around 530BCEa young

man named Kroisos died a hero’s death in battle, and his family

erected a kouros statue (FIG. 5-10) over his grave at Anavysos, not

far from Athens. Fortunately, some of the paint is preserved, giving a

better sense of the statue’s original appearance. The inscribed base

invites visitors to “stay and mourn at the tomb of dead Kroisos,

whom raging Ares destroyed one day as he fought in the foremost

ranks.” The statue, with its distinctive Archaic smile, is no more a

portrait of a specific youth than is the New York kouros. But two

generations later, without rejecting the Egyptian stance, the Greek

sculptor rendered the human body in a far more naturalistic man-

ner. The head is no longer too large for the body, and the face is more

rounded, with swelling cheeks replacing the flat planes of the earlier

work. The long hair does not form a stiff backdrop to the head but

falls naturally over the back. Rounded hips replace the V-shaped

ridges of the New York kouros.

5-9Calf bearer, dedicated by Rhonbos on the Acropolis, Athens,

Greece, ca. 560 bce.Marble, restored height 5 5 ; fragment 3 111 – 2 high.

Acropolis Museum, Athens.

This statue of a bearded man bringing a calf to sacrifice in thanksgiving

to Athena is one of the first to employ the so-called Archaic smile, the

Archaic Greek sculptor’s way of indicating a person is alive.

5-10Kroisos, from Anavysos, Greece, ca. 530 bce.Marble, 6 4 high.

National Archaeological Museum, Athens.

This later kouros stood over the grave of Kroisos, a young man who

died in battle. The statue displays increased naturalism in its propor-

tions and more rounded modeling of face, torso, and limbs.

Archaic Period 107

1 ft.

1 ft.