Metropolitan Kouros Essay

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The Metropolitan Kouros The Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan, New York contains well over two million works of art and art related material. These pieces have a vast range of age, from the oldest artifacts, Archeulian flints from Egypt dating as far back as 300,000 B.C.E., to the newest works of art from this year. Contained in the Metropolitan’s collection of Greek and Roman art are many important sculptures. Perhaps one of the most interesting sculptures, The Metropolitan Kouros stands over 6 feet tall, and has some of the most accurate proportions for the archaic period. The term kouros translates to boy in Ancient Greek . The metropolitan Kouros is one of many kouros statues, as they were very popular in Greece to use in tombs. Many of the kouros statues are similar, another well known is the Getty Kouros, which in my opinion looks more developed and possibly depicting an older boy. As for the Metropolitan Kouros, the medium used is solid marble, and there is no certainty of who crafted the piece. The statue is that of a nude young man striding forward. The figure was once painted in order for it to have a skin tone and more detailed eyes and hair. Unfortunately, due to the statues old age, the paint is no longer visible. Like all kouros statues, the Metropolitan Kouros is entirely freestanding, fully carved on all sides. The figure’s head, feet and hands are each pointed straight forward, putting an emphasis on the frontal view. I have noticed that the statue is thin, taller than it is wide, and that the eyes, navel, genitals, mouth, and nose are perfectly centered and aligned. The statue stands on very large feet (which I believe are out of proportion to the rest of the statue) that are firmly planted on a square base. The feet also seem quite flat, which seems un-realistic, but then again, there is no knowing of how feet have changed since the

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