5L/h.h[ 5L/ Iwh9w a . a w !5 D )%+))+ ./ 0 L Dw 1/+%+7+2)2 (8 %+, !b2*3*** [ 5 D L L D a !5 w $ D a % ./ h • ()*+ )%+ ./9 , • $ - • D a . ()/+ ))+ ./., • a ( , . • a / • L • 0 ( , h • 5 1*23 . h . 0 !" • ! D w 4 h - • 5 $ 5 6 o h - h . 0≤•≥••§ ®• "≤©©≥® -≥• © £¨¨° ≤°© ©® "•§© !≤ '°¨¨•≤ 5L/h.h[ 5L/ Iwh9w a . • . - . 6 :; < • L % ./. D - . a # D%& ' !( !!%! • . $ 5$ 5 4 = • / • t 5 • ! D w D L % ./. 5 5 ! • 8 0 $ • 5 ( a , < D • 0 5 ! ? @ @ 0 = ! < 5 ? ! 0 • L 0 < a < - ) 5 *% ) .%) • a < 5 + w • . ; 5 17/1 • 5 . a / . 1/ 4 A a D!% • ./9 . / . ! / A B < C / = C 9 C b C C A C ! A " " # $ " % . ." & D( )$ *+,* % D$ .( )$ *++- . " / " 0 1 0≤•≥••§ ®• "≤©©≥® -≥• © £¨¨° ≤°© ©® "•§© !≤ '°¨¨•≤ [KOUROI ] The Male Body Beautiful Painted gypsum kouros statuette The Strangford Apollo, Probably Cypriot, about 560 BC, parian marble statue of a boy from Naukratis, Egypt Said to be from Anaphe, GR 1888,1006.1 (Sculpture B438) Cyclades, Greece, about 490 BC GR 1864.0220.1 (Sculpture B475) Label text: Kouroi The Greek male standing nude figure known as a kouros had a very long life in the artistic development of the male body. The earliest examples were borrowed from Egyptian figure types and date to around 600 BC. The stiff and formulaically composed arrangement of head, torso and limbs served as a vehicle for any identity that could be imposed upon it. Conventionally called an Apollo, the type may sometimes represent that god but not always. Many kouroi were used as grave markers, serving as ideal representations of the deceased. An inscription would often make the identity person-specific. These two representations were carved some seventy years apart and, together, they show the development of the nude male body and its progressive tendency to greater realism. Common to both is the schematic rendering of elements, including the frontal aspect. Long hair is also a feature of both and, in the case of the later example, it is braided and then wrapped around the head. Each face has a rather blank expression. The exaggerated smile of the earlier figure has subsided in the lips of the later sculpture. The method of rendering the eyes in the later kouros is different from and more naturalistic than the almond shaped appliqués of the earlier. This last must have relied on paint for greater definition. It may also have had a painted moustache. The later kouros has lost the arms and lower legs. According to the pattern of the kouros, however, we should expect the arms to be held by the sides, while the missing feet would be placed with one forward and the other back. The weight of the figure appeared to be shared by both feet in contrast with the proto-type figures of Egypt, where the weight rested on the back foot. Excellence and Honour · In the 6th century BCE, the idea of manly virtue was captured in the statue type known as a kouros. This idealised male figure sought to demonstrate excellence and honour, and these values remained associated with male sculpture throughout the 5th century BCE and beyond. · The Greek kouros was a mannequin composed to represent the essential elements of ideal manhood. These included strong, even features; long, groomed hair; broad shoulders; developed biceps and pectoral muscles; wasp waist; flat stomach; a clear division of torso and pelvis, and powerful buttocks and thighs. · The slight smile that is present on the face of the kouros represents a Greek sense of pride. The figure is a symbol of arete, the Greek idea of virtue and excellence, and the smile transforms the otherwise formulaic statue into an expression of a central Greek ideal. Presented by the British Museum in collaboration with Bendigo Art Gallery [KOUROI ] The Male Body Beautiful Anatomical changes • Kouroi were first carved in the late 8th century BCE in the Cycladic Islands and remained one of the major types of Greek statuary until the early 5th century BCE. · The Greek artists introduced contrapposto by evenly distributing the weight of the figure as though in the act of walking. Thus the rectangular pillar of stone that is found on the back of Egyptian statues was able to be eliminated. · Although the kouros may look stiff and unnatural to us, it exemplifies two important aspects of Greek Archaic art – an interest in lifelike vitality and a concern with design. · Greek sculptors, guided by their desire to imitate nature as closely as possible, constantly attempted to perfect the modelling of muscles and bone structure within the strict conventions of the kouros figure. · Early kouroi are highly structured, with linear musculature etched into the surface of the body, while later examples show a more three-dimensional rendering of the body and a better understanding of anatomy. · In the earlier kouros, geometric, almost abstract forms dominate, and complex anatomical details, such as the chest muscles and pelvic arch, are rendered in symmetrical patterns. · As the 6th century BCE drew to a close, the later kouroi featured an increasing naturalism, as the hard angular forms of the earlier example gave way to softer more realistic lines. These developments coincide with the beginnings of democracy in Athens, which invested freeborn male citizens a share in political self-determination. · Two predominant features of the kouroi persevered despite evolution towards a more naturalistic treatment: the stylised hair and the unchanging position of the hip, in spite of the advancement of the left leg. Apollo • The kouros was a template onto which various identities could be imposed. It could be used as a grave marker symbolically representing the deceased; it could represent the god Apollo; it could be an offering to the gods; or it could have been awarded as a trophy. · Due to many kouroi being found in temples to the god Apollo it is believed that they are representations of Apollo, and offerings to the god. · The god Apollo was associated with youth, prophecy, archery, healing, music and the sun. · His most important daily task was harnessing his chariot and driving the sun across the sky. Glossary · Arete – virtue, excellence, can also mean goodness. Arete understood as ‘excellence’ is tied to the end, goal, or purpose of something · BCE – Before Common Era. A secular designation, utilising the universally recognised Christian calendar; refers to the time period before the assumed year of Jesus’ birth · Contrapposto – an asymmetrical arrangement of the human figure in which the line of the arms and shoulders contrasts with, while balancing, those of the hips and the legs · Kouros – a young man. The plural of kouros is kouroi The content for these fact sheets was primarily taken from ‘The Body Beautiful in Ancient Greece’ (Jenkins, 2012) and ‘The Greek Body ’ (Jenkins and Turner, 2009). For further reading a reference sheet is available on request. Presented by the British Museum and Bendigo Art Gallery in collaboration Aphrodite and the [BRONZE FIGURE OF APHRODITE ] Female Body Bronze figure of Aphrodite Greek, 200 –100 BC, said to be from near Patras, in mainland Greece GR 1865,0711.1 (Bronze 282) Label text: Bathing beauty The theme of Aphrodite preparing for her bath was developed in the later Greek period to include a variety of poses. This bronze is one of the largest and finest of all versions of a popular type of Aphrodite, where she leans over and lifts her left foot to remove her sandal. The goddess, poised on one foot, seems to have been captured in a fleeting moment observed from life. The eyes are inlaid with silver. Aphrodite: goddess of love • Female characters in myth and literature were often portrayed as strong personalities who acted in rebellious and shocking ways. Goddesses were powerful forces that could be nurturing, virginal, seductive, or a combination of the same. • Goddesses such as Aphrodite mediated between the divine and mortal worlds. • Aphrodite is one of the Twelve Olympian gods; she is the goddess of love and beauty and the mother of Eros. In Roman mythology Eros is known as Cupid. • Some traditions state that Aphrodite sprang