Polykleitos, the Doryphoros, and Tradition

Abstract

Polykleitos of Argos, who flourished between 450 and 420 BC, is one of the most celebrated sculptors of classical Greece. A philosopher and theoretician as well as a sculptor, Polykleitos sought to capture the ideal proportions of the human body, and his work was frequently copied. This illustrated volume of essays by art historians, classical scholars and archaeologists discusses Polykleitos' life and influence, his intellectual and cultural milieu, and his best-known work, the Doryphoros, or Spearbearer. Polykleitos, the Doryphoros and Tradition displays an impressive range of approaches, beginning with commentary on the artistic and philosophical antecedents that influenced Polykleitos' own aesthetic, as well as the role of contemporary Greek anatomical knowledge in his representation of the human form. Many of the essays offer extended analysis and detailed illustration of his surviving sculptures, later copies of his work, and reflections of his style in sculpture, paintings, coins and other art in Greece, Italy, and Asia Minor. Several essays offer an extended discussion of Polykleitos' original bronze Doryphoros, its pose, its relation to other spearbearer sculptures, and their fine Roman marble copy of it now at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. This is a visually and intellectually exciting work that should appeal to not only specialists but general readers interested in the art of ancient Greece. This volume resulted from a 1989 symposiom held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.