New York Kouros

• Date 590 BC
• Height = 1.95 m
• Made from Naxian marble
• Probably a grave-marker in Attica
• The Kouros is noticeably less life-like than the Egyptian standing statues of a similar date
• Influence of the geometric period - lines of symmetry, gull wings and chevrons used to indicate the anatomy
• The use of symmetry and repetition of pattern made the statue more beautiful to the Greek eye - Woodford
• The sculptor has sacrificed the smooth naturalism...for the sake of creating a more aesthetically satisfying work - Woodford
• The artist was struggling to represent the complex anatomical details of the body - The Metropolitan Museum
• He has cut lines into the lower legs to show the calf muscles, even though the human form has no such incisions - The Metropolitan Museum
• The shoulders appear as a simple, flat plane, with just a linear indication for the shoulder planes as the artist was unable to convey the complex swellings of these forms - The Metropolitan Museum
• He has made a beautiful design of the complex structure of an ear (volute) and turned the long curly hair into lovely strings of beads - The Metropolitan Museum
• A primitive work - Boardman