Kritios Boy [SEP] material used
Kritios Boy
The marble Kritios Boy or Kritian Boy belongs to the Early Classical period of ancient Greek sculpture. It is the first statue from classical antiquity known to use contrapposto; Kenneth Clark called it "the first beautiful nude in art" It is possible, even likely, that earlier Bronze statues had used the technique, but if they did, they have not survived and Susan Woodford has speculated that the statue is a copy of a Bronze original. The Kritios Boy is thus named because it is attributed, on slender
" curve, and the shoulder line dips on the left to counteract the action of the pelvis. Among classic Greek sculptures, the Kritios Boy expresses the "Canon of Polyclitus" and his pupils.
It set the rule for later sculptors like Praxiteles and Lysippos, whose contrapposto, or ponderation, is more emphasised than the "subtle equilibrium of outline and axis which is to be the basis of classical art" exhibited by the Kritios Boy's "delicate balance of movement"
The Kritios Boy exhibits a number of other