Originally, sculpture was a way of either representing popular or treasured figures in society or paying tribute to certain gods. For instance the sculpture of Hermes was a representation of the god Hermes who was initially a Greek god perceived to be responsible for the invention of sport. The statue of Kouros is a representation of a male youth.
These sculptures are all carved from marble. These sculptures are of Greek origin though the statue of Hermes stands in the city of Italy Rome. Greeks were not so much obsessed with afterlife and they often chose to express their immortality through art works.This was one of the ways they made their earthly lives comfortable. The Greeks adopted the Egyptian way of sculpturing during the archaic period.
This can be seen in comparable similarities in their works during the early archaic period. The Greeks worshiped Hermes as a god of Olympics. He was a son to two other gods; Zeus and Maia. The Hermes in Rome, known, as mercury is the counterpart of the Greek Hermes and believed to have inherited this god’s characteristics. The statue of Hermes is believed to have been the sculpture of Phidas.
It is a statue of a god who is in a speaking act.This can be seen in the way he has lifted his right hand which maybe a gesture of explanation. Some of the attributes of this sculpture include strength, which is portrayed by the muscled torso and broad shoulders. There is an attribute of a strong sporty wrestler. The statue of Hermes has an athletic physique and possesses long lean legs. His youthfulness is seen in the beardless head.
He has soft and dainty hands and feet. In his head is a tightly curled and intricate hair under a winged cap. His body though seems as that of a mature man.The statue of Kouros is a freestanding marble sculpture representing a male youth.
They were either commemorative or votive sculptures in nature. Kouroi, the plural for kouros, were revolutionary sculptures.. By this I mean that over time the Greek adopted new techniques of carving Kouroi. They adopted Egyptian techniques during the archaic period and shifted from original woodcarvings to atone carvings and especially marble.
Originally, i. e. during the seventh century, this statues served two purposes. They were offered in church and were placed on graves of prominent citizens.
The sculptures always made inscription in the statues. One example is the Inscription on the Kuoros of an Athenian soldier which reads "Stop and show pity beside the marker of Kroisos, dead, whom once in battle's front rank raging Ares destroyed. "( http://en. wikipedia.
org/wiki/Kouroi). In 580 BC in Delphi is the double Kuoros of Kleobis and Biton. This statues are a representation of two heroes of Argos in the Peloponnese. They represent an embodyment of archaical virtues of piety and physical strength.
Both the sculptures depict symmetry in their anatonomical features.A feature adopted undoubtedly from the Egyptian art. There is the revolutionary aspects as seen in the different archaic periods. The sculptures drifted from the old way of curving to newer ways.
This ranged from the materials used to the techniques employed in sculpturing. There is use of marble from the traditionel woodcarvings. The Greeks also embrace proportionality in creating human figures. The head is the centre of attraction for all sculptures.
Both sculpture are symbols of different times and people. Some,for instance Hermes had a set aside day for religious festivals in attribute of the gods.The adoption of new techniques in making such sculptures is a clear show that art was not restricted and it ave the sculptures freedom to choose what to curve from and add new attributes. These lead to a movment of art known as realsm.
Sculptures were able to achieve accuracy of form by using different techniques. The aspecxt of appreciation in body communication is also achieved. They came to understant that the human body is a composition of figures that were supposed to communicate and were in movement. This achieves the quality of human description other than merely suggesting it.
