Striving for Perfection in the Sculpted Human Form – Doryphoros by Polykleitos

This paper explores Doryphoros a Greek sculpture by Polykleitos in 450 BC, which made an invaluable contribution to the pursuit of perfection in the sculpted human form. The Greek Classical Period (480-323 B.C) produced human sculptures known for their freedom of movement, expression and celebration of man’s independent being. It was in the Early and High Classical periods that sculptors strove to achieve perfection of the human form. One major reason touted for this revival of a desire to achieve more realism in the human form was the conceptualization of Democracy in Athens in the fifth century. With this, came a renewed creative spirit in Greece, producing architecture, art, drama and philosophy that have shaped Western civilization. The ancient Greeks believed that every mortal possessed a divine spark, thus perfecting the form and appearance of man was the focus for Greek artists, an aim that made profound advances after the defeat of the Persian invaders and the Greek discovery of individual worth and freedom. Polykleitos, was a Greek bronze sculptor of the fifth and early fourth century BC. He was born at Sikyon in about 480 BC, learned his craft at the school of Argos and was famous for statues of gods and athletes cast in bronze. Along with Phidias, he created the Classical Greek style, an essential element was the use of a relaxed and balanced pose. Furthermore, Polykleitos created a new approach to sculpture based on a “Canon of Proportion” that he devised, designing Doryphoros a male nude larger then life-size sculpture as an example to illustrate his aesthetic theories. However, no one knows what unit of measure he used, since neither his treatise nor his statue survived. Doryphoros was sculpted by Polykleitos in 450 BC. The original does not exist today, probably because the bronze sculpture was melted down for many other uses, leaving us to appreciate his work from multiple Roman copies in marble. The statue is now known as “The Spear

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