LaurieAnnie's photos with the keyword: kouros

Kouros, 1944–45 Isamu Noguchi (American, 1904–1988) Marble; H. 117 in. (297.2 cm), base: D. 34 1/8 in. (86.7 cm), W. 42 in. (106.7 cm) Fletcher Fund, 1953 (53.87a-i) Born in America in 1904 to a Japanese father and an American mother, Isamu Noguchi spent most of his childhood in Japan (1906–18) before returning to the United States to continue his schooling (1918–24). Between 1927 and 1937, his frequent and extended travels to Europe, China, Japan, and Mexico, where he saw modern painting and sculpture being made, studied calligraphy, and painted a mural, provided him with an eclectic range of artistic experiences upon which to draw. Noguchi's sculptures and drawings from the mid-1940s are occupied with figurative and biomorphic imagery. Kouros illustrates the biomorphic vocabulary that Noguchi devised in order to abstract the human figure into fragmented, bonelike elements, and may be compared to the biomorphic abstractions produced by such Surrealist artists as Jean Arp, Matta, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, and Yves Tanguy. However, Noguchi always contended that the organic quality of his work came not from Surrealist examples but from his familiarity with traditional Japanese arts and crafts—bells, samurai swords, and floral arrangements. Although Surrealism no doubt played a part in Noguchi's use of biomorphic abstraction in the 1940s, he was already predisposed to it by an earlier and more memorable experience—that of working with the sculptor Constantin Brancusi in Paris while traveling on a Guggenheim Fellowship. As Brancusi's part-time studio assistant for about five months in 1927, the twenty-two-year-old Noguchi learned how simple organic shapes could evoke figurative associations. He also acquired the techniques needed to carve in stone, which he first used for his own sculpture in the 1930s and which continued to dominate his aesthetic for more than fifty years. This dedication to traditional techniques and materials was in direct opposition to the more industrial welded-metal construction that was popularized in the 1940s and '50s by such sculptors as Herbert Ferber, Theodore Roszak, and David Smith. In all, Noguchi completed about fifteen interlocking sculptures between 1945 and 1948, including the Metropolitan Museum's famous pink marble sculpture Kouros, which is more than nine feet high. These sculptures were assembled from individual pieces of carved stone, without benefit of adhesives or pinions, by notching and slotting the pieces together. As Noguchi explained: "You have to consider the weight of the material, the forces that conspire to hold up the figure—engineering problems, essentially. Everything I do has an element of engineering in it—particularly since I dislike gluing parts together or taking advantage of something that is not inherent in the material … there are no adhesives of any kind—only the stones holding themselves together." The fragmented figures that were created, in both drawings and sculpture, reflect Noguchi's feelings about the precarious state of the world after World War II, which he characterized as "the encroaching void." Such feelings were echoed in the statements made by some of the Abstract Expressionists at the time and in the primordial and mythic imagery they chose to depict. For Noguchi, as for many Abstract Expressionists, abstraction was a way to convey the intimate relationship between contemporary man and these ancient, universal sources. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/11/na/ho_53.87a-i.htm

Kouros, 1944–45 Isamu Noguchi (American, 1904–1988) Marble; H. 117 in. (297.2 cm), base: D. 34 1/8 in. (86.7 cm), W. 42 in. (106.7 cm) Fletcher Fund, 1953 (53.87a-i) Born in America in 1904 to a Japanese father and an American mother, Isamu Noguchi spent most of his childhood in Japan (1906–18) before returning to the United States to continue his schooling (1918–24). Between 1927 and 1937, his frequent and extended travels to Europe, China, Japan, and Mexico, where he saw modern painting and sculpture being made, studied calligraphy, and painted a mural, provided him with an eclectic range of artistic experiences upon which to draw. Noguchi's sculptures and drawings from the mid-1940s are occupied with figurative and biomorphic imagery. Kouros illustrates the biomorphic vocabulary that Noguchi devised in order to abstract the human figure into fragmented, bonelike elements, and may be compared to the biomorphic abstractions produced by such Surrealist artists as Jean Arp, Matta, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, and Yves Tanguy. However, Noguchi always contended that the organic quality of his work came not from Surrealist examples but from his familiarity with traditional Japanese arts and crafts—bells, samurai swords, and floral arrangements. Although Surrealism no doubt played a part in Noguchi's use of biomorphic abstraction in the 1940s, he was already predisposed to it by an earlier and more memorable experience—that of working with the sculptor Constantin Brancusi in Paris while traveling on a Guggenheim Fellowship. As Brancusi's part-time studio assistant for about five months in 1927, the twenty-two-year-old Noguchi learned how simple organic shapes could evoke figurative associations. He also acquired the techniques needed to carve in stone, which he first used for his own sculpture in the 1930s and which continued to dominate his aesthetic for more than fifty years. This dedication to traditional techniques and materials was in direct opposition to the more industrial welded-metal construction that was popularized in the 1940s and '50s by such sculptors as Herbert Ferber, Theodore Roszak, and David Smith. In all, Noguchi completed about fifteen interlocking sculptures between 1945 and 1948, including the Metropolitan Museum's famous pink marble sculpture Kouros, which is more than nine feet high. These sculptures were assembled from individual pieces of carved stone, without benefit of adhesives or pinions, by notching and slotting the pieces together. As Noguchi explained: "You have to consider the weight of the material, the forces that conspire to hold up the figure—engineering problems, essentially. Everything I do has an element of engineering in it—particularly since I dislike gluing parts together or taking advantage of something that is not inherent in the material … there are no adhesives of any kind—only the stones holding themselves together." The fragmented figures that were created, in both drawings and sculpture, reflect Noguchi's feelings about the precarious state of the world after World War II, which he characterized as "the encroaching void." Such feelings were echoed in the statements made by some of the Abstract Expressionists at the time and in the primordial and mythic imagery they chose to depict. For Noguchi, as for many Abstract Expressionists, abstraction was a way to convey the intimate relationship between contemporary man and these ancient, universal sources. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/11/na/ho_53.87a-i.htm

Marble statue of a kouros (youth), ca. 590–580 B.C.; Archaic Greek, Attic Marble, Naxian; H. without plinth 76 5/8 in. (194.6 cm); H. of head 12 in. (30.5 cm); length of face 8 7/8 in. (22.6 cm); shoulder width 20 5/16 in. (51.6 cm) Fletcher Fund, 1932 (32.11.1) This kouros is one of the earliest marble statues of a human figure carved in Attica. The rigid stance, with the left leg forward and arms at the side, was derived from Egyptian art. The pose provided a clear, simple formula that was used by Greek sculptors throughout the sixth century B.C. In this early figure, geometric, almost abstract forms predominate, and anatomical details are rendered in beautiful analogous patterns. The statue marked the grave of a young Athenian aristocrat. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=13&vie...

Kouros Marble, Greek, Attic, ca. 590-580 B.C. Fletcher Fund, 1932 (32.11.1) Judy and Michael H. Steinhardt Gallery The kouros was carved in the early sixth century B.C., and is one of the earliest free-standing marble statues from Attica, the region around Athens. Although it looks stiff and unrealistic to us, it exemplifies two important aspects of Greek Art: an interest in lifelike vitality, and a concern with design, an underlying order beneath surface appearance. The Greeks learned to quarry stone and plan the execution of large-scale statues from the Egyptians, who had been working very hard stones for centuries. The stance of the Kouros derives from Egyptian art, and Greek artists used the formula for carving free-standing male figures for over one hundred years. From the very beginning, however, they eliminated the rectangular pillar of stone that was carved as one piece with the back of Egyptian statues. It’s extremely difficult to carve a large figure with all of the weight carried down through the two legs with no added support along the side. But in doing this, they achieved a more natural, well-balanced appearance that must have seemed extraordinarily life-like. If you look closely at the Kouros, you can see how the artist was struggling to represent the complex anatomical details of the body. Some formulas, he’s taken from the Egyptians, such as the knee and wrist. But he has cut lines into the lower legs to show the calf muscles, even though the human form has no such incisions, and from the back, the shoulders appear as a simple, flat plane, with just a linear indication for the shoulder planes. The artist wasn’t able to convey the complex swellings of these forms. On the head, all the features are placed on the front plane, leaving flat sides with an ear placed much too far back. This is a mistake many beginning art students make. But he has made a beautiful design of the complex structure of an ear, and turned the curly long hair into lovely strings of beads. Egyptian statues of male figures wore kilts. The kouros is nude. From the eighth century B.C. onward, the Greeks represented male figures in the nude. No other contemporary culture had this custom. Greek youths trained and competed in athletic contests in the nude. But nudity also had a connotation of heroic excellence. The beauty of a perfectly proportioned, well-trained body was considered an outward manifestation of the striving for excellence that marked a hero. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/explore/Greek/greek5.htm

Kouros Marble, Greek, Attic, ca. 590-580 B.C. Fletcher Fund, 1932 (32.11.1) Judy and Michael H. Steinhardt Gallery The kouros was carved in the early sixth century B.C., and is one of the earliest free-standing marble statues from Attica, the region around Athens. Although it looks stiff and unrealistic to us, it exemplifies two important aspects of Greek Art: an interest in lifelike vitality, and a concern with design, an underlying order beneath surface appearance. The Greeks learned to quarry stone and plan the execution of large-scale statues from the Egyptians, who had been working very hard stones for centuries. The stance of the Kouros derives from Egyptian art, and Greek artists used the formula for carving free-standing male figures for over one hundred years. From the very beginning, however, they eliminated the rectangular pillar of stone that was carved as one piece with the back of Egyptian statues. It’s extremely difficult to carve a large figure with all of the weight carried down through the two legs with no added support along the side. But in doing this, they achieved a more natural, well-balanced appearance that must have seemed extraordinarily life-like. If you look closely at the Kouros, you can see how the artist was struggling to represent the complex anatomical details of the body. Some formulas, he’s taken from the Egyptians, such as the knee and wrist. But he has cut lines into the lower legs to show the calf muscles, even though the human form has no such incisions, and from the back, the shoulders appear as a simple, flat plane, with just a linear indication for the shoulder planes. The artist wasn’t able to convey the complex swellings of these forms. On the head, all the features are placed on the front plane, leaving flat sides with an ear placed much too far back. This is a mistake many beginning art students make. But he has made a beautiful design of the complex structure of an ear, and turned the curly long hair into lovely strings of beads. Egyptian statues of male figures wore kilts. The kouros is nude. From the eighth century B.C. onward, the Greeks represented male figures in the nude. No other contemporary culture had this custom. Greek youths trained and competed in athletic contests in the nude. But nudity also had a connotation of heroic excellence. The beauty of a perfectly proportioned, well-trained body was considered an outward manifestation of the striving for excellence that marked a hero. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/explore/Greek/greek5.htm

Kouros Marble, Greek, Attic, ca. 590-580 B.C. Fletcher Fund, 1932 (32.11.1) Judy and Michael H. Steinhardt Gallery The kouros was carved in the early sixth century B.C., and is one of the earliest free-standing marble statues from Attica, the region around Athens. Although it looks stiff and unrealistic to us, it exemplifies two important aspects of Greek Art: an interest in lifelike vitality, and a concern with design, an underlying order beneath surface appearance. The Greeks learned to quarry stone and plan the execution of large-scale statues from the Egyptians, who had been working very hard stones for centuries. The stance of the Kouros derives from Egyptian art, and Greek artists used the formula for carving free-standing male figures for over one hundred years. From the very beginning, however, they eliminated the rectangular pillar of stone that was carved as one piece with the back of Egyptian statues. It’s extremely difficult to carve a large figure with all of the weight carried down through the two legs with no added support along the side. But in doing this, they achieved a more natural, well-balanced appearance that must have seemed extraordinarily life-like. If you look closely at the Kouros, you can see how the artist was struggling to represent the complex anatomical details of the body. Some formulas, he’s taken from the Egyptians, such as the knee and wrist. But he has cut lines into the lower legs to show the calf muscles, even though the human form has no such incisions, and from the back, the shoulders appear as a simple, flat plane, with just a linear indication for the shoulder planes. The artist wasn’t able to convey the complex swellings of these forms. On the head, all the features are placed on the front plane, leaving flat sides with an ear placed much too far back. This is a mistake many beginning art students make. But he has made a beautiful design of the complex structure of an ear, and turned the curly long hair into lovely strings of beads. Egyptian statues of male figures wore kilts. The kouros is nude. From the eighth century B.C. onward, the Greeks represented male figures in the nude. No other contemporary culture had this custom. Greek youths trained and competed in athletic contests in the nude. But nudity also had a connotation of heroic excellence. The beauty of a perfectly proportioned, well-trained body was considered an outward manifestation of the striving for excellence that marked a hero. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/explore/Greek/greek5.htm

Marble statue of a kouros (youth), ca. 590–580 B.C.; Archaic Greek, Attic Marble, Naxian; H. without plinth 76 5/8 in. (194.6 cm); H. of head 12 in. (30.5 cm); length of face 8 7/8 in. (22.6 cm); shoulder width 20 5/16 in. (51.6 cm) Fletcher Fund, 1932 (32.11.1) This kouros is one of the earliest marble statues of a human figure carved in Attica. The rigid stance, with the left leg forward and arms at the side, was derived from Egyptian art. The pose provided a clear, simple formula that was used by Greek sculptors throughout the sixth century B.C. In this early figure, geometric, almost abstract forms predominate, and anatomical details are rendered in beautiful analogous patterns. The statue marked the grave of a young Athenian aristocrat. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=13&vie...

Kouros Creator: Greek (Sculptor) Period: ca. 530 BC (Archaic) Medium: limestone (Sculpture) Accession Number: 23.279 Measurements: 23 1/4 x 12 3/16 x 6 11/16 in. (59 x 31 x 17 cm) Geography: Asia Minor (Place of Discovery) A large stone figure of a nude youth with its left foot forward, called a "Kouros" (plural "Kouroi"), was the most common male representation during the Archaic period. Usually, these statues have their hands by their sides, but this one has the shoulders pulled back and the hands curiously set below the chest. The now-missing right hand was either attached to the side like the better-preserved left palm, or it was placed close to the body holding an offering. Like most "Kouroi," the statue was probably set in a sanctuary or marked the tomb of a young aristocrat. Text from: art.thewalters.org/detail/9831/kouros/

Young Man Greek, probably from Didyma, 550-525 BC Marble Kouros Inventory # 91.AA.7 Statues of kouroi (young men) were dedicated in sanctuaries throughout the Greek world in the 500s BC. The rounded body of this kouros and the smooth contours of his clinging garment are typical of carving done in Didyma, an ancient city on the west coast of present-day Turkey. Kouroi from Didyma characteristically hold birds as offerings. Text from the Getty Villa museum label.

Young Man Greek, probably from Chios, about 520 BC Marble Kouros Inventory # 83.AA.216 The flat, schematic folds of the tunic and cloak worn by this kouros (young man) are typical of sculpture made on the island of Chios in the 500s BC. Chios was one of the many Greek settlements established along the coast of Ionia (present-day western Turkey). Although Greek statues of kouroi were usually nude, in Ionia they were frequently clothed. Text from the Getty Villa museum label.

Statue of a Kouros Unknown Greek, about 530 B.C., or modern forgery Marble 81 1/8 x 21 1/2 in. 85.AA.40 A kouros is a statue of a standing nude youth that did not represent any one individual youth but the idea of youth. Used in Archaic Greece as both a dedication to the gods in sanctuaries and as a grave monument, the standard kouros stood with his left foot forward, arms at his sides, looking straight ahead. Carved in from four sides, the statue retained the general shape of the marble block. Archaic Greek sculptors reduced human anatomy and musculature in these statues to decorative patterning on the surface of the marble. The kouros embodies many of the ideals of the aristocratic culture of Archaic Greece. One such ideal of this period was arete, a combination of moral and physical beauty and nobility. Arete was closely connected with kalokagathia, literally a composite term for beautiful and good or noble. Writing in the mid 500s B.C., the Greek poet Theognis summed this idea up as "What is beautiful is loved, and what is not is unloved." In a society that emphasized youth and male beauty, the artistic manifestation of this world view was the kouros. Indeed, when the poet Simonides wrote about arete in the late 500s, he used a metaphor seemingly drawn from the kouros: "In hand and foot and mind alike foursquare/ fashioned without flaw." Neither art historians nor scientists have been able to completely resolve the issue of the Getty Museum kouros's authenticity. Certain elements of the statue have led to this questioning, especially a mixture of earlier and later stylistic traits and the use of marble from the island of Thasos at a date when its use is unexpected. Yet the anomalies of the Getty kouros may be due more to our limited knowledge of Greek sculpture in this period rather than to mistakes on the part of a forger. Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=12908

Statue of a Kouros Unknown Greek, about 530 B.C., or modern forgery Marble 81 1/8 x 21 1/2 in. 85.AA.40 A kouros is a statue of a standing nude youth that did not represent any one individual youth but the idea of youth. Used in Archaic Greece as both a dedication to the gods in sanctuaries and as a grave monument, the standard kouros stood with his left foot forward, arms at his sides, looking straight ahead. Carved in from four sides, the statue retained the general shape of the marble block. Archaic Greek sculptors reduced human anatomy and musculature in these statues to decorative patterning on the surface of the marble. The kouros embodies many of the ideals of the aristocratic culture of Archaic Greece. One such ideal of this period was arete, a combination of moral and physical beauty and nobility. Arete was closely connected with kalokagathia, literally a composite term for beautiful and good or noble. Writing in the mid 500s B.C., the Greek poet Theognis summed this idea up as "What is beautiful is loved, and what is not is unloved." In a society that emphasized youth and male beauty, the artistic manifestation of this world view was the kouros. Indeed, when the poet Simonides wrote about arete in the late 500s, he used a metaphor seemingly drawn from the kouros: "In hand and foot and mind alike foursquare/ fashioned without flaw." Neither art historians nor scientists have been able to completely resolve the issue of the Getty Museum kouros's authenticity. Certain elements of the statue have led to this questioning, especially a mixture of earlier and later stylistic traits and the use of marble from the island of Thasos at a date when its use is unexpected. Yet the anomalies of the Getty kouros may be due more to our limited knowledge of Greek sculpture in this period rather than to mistakes on the part of a forger. Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=12908

Statue of a Kouros Unknown Greek, about 530 B.C., or modern forgery Marble 81 1/8 x 21 1/2 in. 85.AA.40 A kouros is a statue of a standing nude youth that did not represent any one individual youth but the idea of youth. Used in Archaic Greece as both a dedication to the gods in sanctuaries and as a grave monument, the standard kouros stood with his left foot forward, arms at his sides, looking straight ahead. Carved in from four sides, the statue retained the general shape of the marble block. Archaic Greek sculptors reduced human anatomy and musculature in these statues to decorative patterning on the surface of the marble. The kouros embodies many of the ideals of the aristocratic culture of Archaic Greece. One such ideal of this period was arete, a combination of moral and physical beauty and nobility. Arete was closely connected with kalokagathia, literally a composite term for beautiful and good or noble. Writing in the mid 500s B.C., the Greek poet Theognis summed this idea up as "What is beautiful is loved, and what is not is unloved." In a society that emphasized youth and male beauty, the artistic manifestation of this world view was the kouros. Indeed, when the poet Simonides wrote about arete in the late 500s, he used a metaphor seemingly drawn from the kouros: "In hand and foot and mind alike foursquare/ fashioned without flaw." Neither art historians nor scientists have been able to completely resolve the issue of the Getty Museum kouros's authenticity. Certain elements of the statue have led to this questioning, especially a mixture of earlier and later stylistic traits and the use of marble from the island of Thasos at a date when its use is unexpected. Yet the anomalies of the Getty kouros may be due more to our limited knowledge of Greek sculpture in this period rather than to mistakes on the part of a forger. Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=12908

Statue of a Kouros Unknown Greek, about 530 B.C., or modern forgery Marble 81 1/8 x 21 1/2 in. 85.AA.40 A kouros is a statue of a standing nude youth that did not represent any one individual youth but the idea of youth. Used in Archaic Greece as both a dedication to the gods in sanctuaries and as a grave monument, the standard kouros stood with his left foot forward, arms at his sides, looking straight ahead. Carved in from four sides, the statue retained the general shape of the marble block. Archaic Greek sculptors reduced human anatomy and musculature in these statues to decorative patterning on the surface of the marble. The kouros embodies many of the ideals of the aristocratic culture of Archaic Greece. One such ideal of this period was arete, a combination of moral and physical beauty and nobility. Arete was closely connected with kalokagathia, literally a composite term for beautiful and good or noble. Writing in the mid 500s B.C., the Greek poet Theognis summed this idea up as "What is beautiful is loved, and what is not is unloved." In a society that emphasized youth and male beauty, the artistic manifestation of this world view was the kouros. Indeed, when the poet Simonides wrote about arete in the late 500s, he used a metaphor seemingly drawn from the kouros: "In hand and foot and mind alike foursquare/ fashioned without flaw." Neither art historians nor scientists have been able to completely resolve the issue of the Getty Museum kouros's authenticity. Certain elements of the statue have led to this questioning, especially a mixture of earlier and later stylistic traits and the use of marble from the island of Thasos at a date when its use is unexpected. Yet the anomalies of the Getty kouros may be due more to our limited knowledge of Greek sculpture in this period rather than to mistakes on the part of a forger. Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=12908

Statue of a Kouros Unknown Greek, about 530 B.C., or modern forgery Marble 81 1/8 x 21 1/2 in. 85.AA.40 A kouros is a statue of a standing nude youth that did not represent any one individual youth but the idea of youth. Used in Archaic Greece as both a dedication to the gods in sanctuaries and as a grave monument, the standard kouros stood with his left foot forward, arms at his sides, looking straight ahead. Carved in from four sides, the statue retained the general shape of the marble block. Archaic Greek sculptors reduced human anatomy and musculature in these statues to decorative patterning on the surface of the marble. The kouros embodies many of the ideals of the aristocratic culture of Archaic Greece. One such ideal of this period was arete, a combination of moral and physical beauty and nobility. Arete was closely connected with kalokagathia, literally a composite term for beautiful and good or noble. Writing in the mid 500s B.C., the Greek poet Theognis summed this idea up as "What is beautiful is loved, and what is not is unloved." In a society that emphasized youth and male beauty, the artistic manifestation of this world view was the kouros. Indeed, when the poet Simonides wrote about arete in the late 500s, he used a metaphor seemingly drawn from the kouros: "In hand and foot and mind alike foursquare/ fashioned without flaw." Neither art historians nor scientists have been able to completely resolve the issue of the Getty Museum kouros's authenticity. Certain elements of the statue have led to this questioning, especially a mixture of earlier and later stylistic traits and the use of marble from the island of Thasos at a date when its use is unexpected. Yet the anomalies of the Getty kouros may be due more to our limited knowledge of Greek sculpture in this period rather than to mistakes on the part of a forger. Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=12908