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CLASSICAL PLASTIC
ARTS
For details of Greek art and
later styles of Roman art, see:
Greek Sculpture
Daedalic
Archaic Sculpture
Early
Classical
High
Classical Sculpture
Late
Classical
Hellenistic
Greek Sculpture
Greek
Statues, Reliefs
Roman Sculpture
Roman Reliefs
FORMS OF SCULPTING
For different types of 3-D
carving/casting, see:
Stone Sculpture
Granite, limestone, sandstone
and other rock-types.
Wood Carving
Chip carving, relief carving of
softwoods and hardwoods.
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Lysippos continued to develop and push
the boundaries of his art. There is a new sense of movement in his work,
the head, limbs, torso all face in different directions, indicating a
sudden change of action. He also took great pains over the hair, eyelids,
toenails and other details of his marble figures.
Apoxyomenos (The Scraper)
Lysippos received numerous portrait commissions
from Alexander's Generals. And, as he was also head of the famous athletic
school of Peloponnese, Lysippos naturally sculpted many athletes. Most
popular at the time as a commission, was a figure of an athlete, scraping
his body with a strigil - a curved instrument, used to scrap oil, dirt
and sweat from the body. Apoxyomenos (The Scraper) is a known Roman
marble copy which can be seen in the Vatican Museum.
The Farnese Hercules
Lysippos' colossal marble statue of Hercules
resting on his club after his labours, known as the Farnese Hercules
(the original copy was placed in the Baths of Caracalla, but the best
surviving marble copy can be seen in the National Archaeological Museum,
Naples), was highly influential and much copied. (For many years it was
part of the art collection of the Farnese family, whose members included
Alessandro Farnese (1468-1549), later Pope Paul III, and a second Alessandro
Farnese (1520-89), a cardinal and patron of the arts.)
Roman writers at the time, including Pliny,
make many references to Lysippos and his style of sculpting. They comment
on the grace and elegance, and the symmetria or coherent balance of his
figures. They said he produced new and striking versions of the Gods,
including Zeus and the Sun-God. Many of these were colossal figures in
bronze. Others works (copies) attributed to him include the Horses
of Saint Mark; Eros Stringing the Bow (several copies exist,
the best of which can be seen at the British Museum, London); and the
Oil Pourer (Dresden).
Legacy
Later in his career, Lysippos became head
of the school of Argos and Sikyon. His pupil, Chares of Lindos
went on to construct the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders
of the Ancient World. Together with Skopas and Praxiteles,
Lysippos helped bring about the transition into the Hellenistic period
of art. He remains a key figure in the history
of sculpture from classical antiquity.
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