Classical Greek Sculpture
The Greeks were able to create life-like sculptures by a continuous struggle with technical problems, by dedicated and direct study of nature, and by the developing a artistic tradition in different schools and families. Sadly very little Greek sculpture has survived. This is partly due to the fact that In Medieval times, Greek statues were an unwelcome reminder of past paganism. The beautiful statues were reduced to ashes by the thousands in order to make cement for new construction. Archeologist have found medieval lime kilns in practically all major Greek archaeological sites. Luckily the Romans were a rather unoriginal bunch in terms of art and copied many Greek sculptures. It is through these copies that we are able to see the genius of the ancient Greek sculptors.
During the early period of Greek art the ambition of the sculptor was to achieve complete mastery over the stone and perfect the bodily form. According to classical Greek historian, Ernest Arthur Gardner, "Now the Greek sculptor, as a rule, did not work from an individual model at all. He trusted partly, especially in earlier times, to the tradition which familiarized him with a few fixed types, on which he made variations, partly to his observation and memory trained for generations, and daily supplied with new material in the gymnasium where nude youths and men were constantly exercising, or in the marketplace where he met his fellow-citizens. To see before him, whether draped or nude, the figures he wanted for his art, he had no need to pose a model in a studio; his models were at all times around him in his daily life. The result was that when he wished to represent a youth or a maiden, or even to make a portrait of a statesman, he tended to reproduce the type with certain personal modifications rather than to produce a portrait in the modern sense."
A list of the greatest ancient Greek sculptors
Scopas 4th century BC
Praxiteles 4th century BC
Lysippus 4th century BC
Phidias 5th century BC
Alcamenes 5th century BC
Agoracritus 5th century BC
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