The proportions of some Archaic Greek sculptured figures: A computer analysis

Abstract

FOR more than a century, art historians have debated the question whether a relationship existed between early Greek and Egyptian art. There is as yet no generally accepted theory of what constitutes the influence of one upon the other, nor any really objective demonstration or proof. Certain similarities have been observed, which one group considers to be accidental or coincidental. Archaic Greek art, they say, developed out of the local tradition. A second group holds that the similarities cannot be coincidences, but must stem from the observation of prototypes and learning of techniques in established schools which teach the skills of stone carving. Others suggest that each sculpture is an individual creation, the artist's unique response to the challenge of his materials and assignment. Still another point of view, adopted by many scholars, is that the human body itself was a direct source of inspiration for Greek sculptors. It has, in fact, been demonstrated that during the archaic period there was an increasing fidelity to the human figure in the execution of anatomical details.' Any contribution to a definitive solution of this puzzle would tell us a great deal about the nature and role of art in ancient Greece, about the nature of art in the history of civilization, and about the cultural affinities between two of the