Early Greek Art Analysis

The early Greek artists deviated from the previous conventional methods of sculpting human figures. They had a growing interest in representing art that takes on a more lifelike image. This can be seen in the chronological progression of the three kouros. The pursuit of the naturalism represents the change in how they perceived perfection. They saw perfection in aesthetics as trying to recreate the human figure to how it should look like, embracing the imperfections by taking on the naturalism approach.
It is only apt that the works of the early Greeks are compared with the works of the ancient Egyptian artists. For instance, the New York Kouros was very different from the Statue of Khafre. Unlike the Statue of Khafre, the New York Kouros …show more content…
This can be seen from the reduced flatness of the facial features, the distinction in the abdominals, the direct separation of the fist from the sides, the increased curvature of the gastrocnemius, and the more proportionate lengths of the toes. In addition, the Kroisos also has the archaic smile, which introduces an emotional aspect to the sculpture. Yet, the middle stage in the progression still retained some of the early Egyptian influences. Apart from having the same footing position and clenched fists, the rigidity of the sculpture can be viewed from the almost perfectly symmetrical posture from the waist up.
Towards the end of the early Greek art, there was a drastic shift when the Kritios Boy was considered far from rigid. The archaic smile was even more pronounced, the slight rotation of the torso with respect to the hip delivered a movement-like posture. The early Greek artists also paid more attention to detail by distinguishing the skin, bone, and muscles within the Kritios Boy. The pursuit of naturalism also composed of removing most, if not all, the influence of ancient Egyptian art of the human figure. The arms of the Kritios Boy were non-existent, and so were the