Basic Facts• Made by Polykleitos• Originally made c.440
BCE (High Classical)• Bronze (marble copy)• 2.12 metres• Holding a spear• Most likely displayed in
place of exercise eg. Palaestras
• This copy found in Pompeii
The significance of this statue
• There are many Roman copies of this statue.
• The most copied Greek statue
The Canon
• Polykleitos pioneered this idea - a rule for a standard of beauty
• Proportions and ratio between each body part – unrealistic head size?
• Mathematical calculation of relations between body parts
• The Doryphorus is a manifestation ofThe Canon
Contrapposto
• Notice the line going down the middle – straight VS s-shaped
• The tension in the limbs – balanced, equilibrium
• A walking man, alive• "poised about to walk but still at
rest, relaxed and yet alert."
Relaxed
Cont
ract
ed
Relax
ed
Contracted
Head turn
Hip twist
• Nice to look at from the sides and the front, because of the head turning away to the side
• This is unlike Kouroi or even the Discobolus, only good from one angle
• “The left side is enlivened by the angular elbow and the bent knee, while the right side... Is animated by the turn of the head.” - Woodford
The back
• The back doesn’t look as pleasing to look at
• Has the deep groove – no coccyx bone
• From the back we can see the contrapposto
The face
• Detailed wavy hair, not patterned, boring
• Relaxed expression, showing calmness in war
• Distant and aloof• Short hair and no beard
• Except for the spear, there are no clues to show that the statue is of a soldier (no armour)
• Many Ancient scholars believed it to represent Achilles, the ideal soldier
• But it has a generic face and no attributes• Modern scholars think the statue didn’t
represent anyone, but was instead the ideal person – with Polykleitos’ perfect proportions
Legs
• The left leg is raised, with only toes touching the ground.
• This creates movement, more so than the Riace warriors.
• “The spear bearer is shown pausing for a moment as he steps forward – a stable image which retains the suggestion of movement” - Woodford
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