Lysippus - the sculptor of Ancient Greece, and his works

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Lysippus is considered the last sculptor of the ancient Greek classics. His work is still admired. Little is known about the artist himself. However, contemporaries knew that the only teacher recognized by the great Greek was nature.

How did the great sculptor start?

At the dawn of his career, Lysippus worked as an ordinary coppersmith. The sculptor, of course, dreamed of becoming someone great, but he had no money for a teacher.

Perhaps the sculptor would have remained an unknown person who lived in the 4th century BC, if one day he had not heard the speech of a painter named Evlomp. He assured that the best teacher can only be nature, and not man. The artist, after listening to this speech, drew conclusions for himself and went to observe nature.

It was Lysippos who once learned to create more believable sculptures. He made his characters' legs longer and their heads smaller. In addition, like Scopas, the artist worked to convey movement in his works.

By the way, these great sculptors - Skopas, Lysippus - are the last representatives of the ancient Greek classicalera.

Features of work

On the one hand, the artist did not reject classical works. Heroism was traced in the works of Lysippus. On the other hand, the innovator brought sculptures to life. His figures turned out to be more dynamic, even dramatic, and his faces resembled those of his contemporaries.

Bronze was his favorite material. Unfortunately, this copper alloy was often remelted. If not for the Romans, today no one would have known who the sculptor Lysippus was. His works can be studied only by copies. It is believed that Roman artists were able to recreate the sculpture of the athlete Apoxyomenos more truthfully.

Returning to the features of the artist's works, it is worth noting that he depicted people not as they are, but as Lysippus himself represented them. The sculptor of Ancient Greece most of all liked to work on characters. In addition, this is the first artist who broke the human body into planes. Thanks to this, his works began to look lighter and livelier than, say, the monumental statues of Polikleitos.

Sculptures of Lysippus

It is difficult to fully understand what the artist's work looked like during his lifetime. Perhaps Lysippus the sculptor himself would have been surprised at the Roman copies. Nevertheless, today his works are divided into more and less successful ones.

The most popular are:

1. Statue of Apoxyomenos. This composition has won recognition all over the world. Although the motif of the work is quite simple: an athlete cleans his body with a scraper after the competition.
2. Sculptures depicting Hercules. All the exploits of the hero were immortalized. Nowadays inYou can admire the very first of them in the Hermitage. There is a copy of the sculpture "Hercules fighting a lion".
3. Resting Hermes. God Lysippus is very similar to an ordinary person.
4. "Eros". Image of a proportional child figure.
5. Colossal statue of Zeus in Tarentum. The work reached 20 meters in height.

In addition, it is believed that Lysippus was also the first to turn to the portrait genre. The sculptor mainly worked on recreating the image of Alexander the Great. He is also credited with portraits of Socrates and the seven wise men.

The famous "Apoxiomen"

The statue of "Apoxiomen" is considered the most famous work that the great Lysippus left us as a legacy. The sculptor, the photo confirms this, not only created a statue, but also managed to convey all the experiences of a tired athlete.

Even in the illustration, Apoxyomenes is a young man who is still aroused after the fight. He seems to be stepping from foot to foot, and his hair, pulled to the side with his hand, makes it possible to guess that the athlete was sweating. The open mouth shows that the athlete has not yet had time to take a breath, and fatigue in the sunken eyes.

At the same time, art critics are sure that the marble copy could not convey the full depth of Lysippus' work. Moreover, when in the 19th century the sculpture came to the Roman restorer Tenerani, the artist suggested that Apoxyomenes held a dice in his hand. Soon, archaeologists found evidence that in the original, the athlete was simply cleaning himself with a scraper. Dice fromwork removed.

Diversified "Hercules"

Practically every ancient Greek author had their favorite mythical hero. Lysippus at one time chose Hercules. Art critics believe that the artist saw his patron hero in him. And they wonder what qualities of Hercules were emphasized by the ancient sculptor Lysippus?

In some works, the hero fights, other sculptures show a tired demigod, in others, the son of Zeus simply rests from the earthly hardships of life. You can trace the evolution of the Greek hero in three works by the author.

"Hercules fighting the lion"

They say that if you go around the sculpture from four sides, then you can live the hero's famous feat with him. Frontally, the viewer will appreciate the beginning of the fight. Hercules and the lion are ready to fight, both are sure of victory. When viewed from the right side, it looks like the demigod is about to lose his balance. From the back it becomes noticeable that the strength is on the side of the hero. On the left, the beast is almost slain.

Resting Hercules

Here is the hero after the feat. He is tired and inactive. It seems that if the demigod had not leaned on a club covered with a lion's skin, he would have fallen exhausted.

“Young Hercules feasting on Olympus” (statue)

The hero has already accomplished all his deeds, finished his earthly journey, and finally got to Olympus. He is careless, not in a hurry, but just enjoying the feast.

According to historians, it was the third statuette that Lysippus presented to Alexander the Great. Ruler soliked the work that he did not part with it until his death.

Gods in the works of Lysippus

The great sculptor Lysippus also paid much attention to the Gods of Ancient Greece. His works, on the one hand, make the inhabitants of Olympus more alive and close to people, on the other hand, it is immediately clear that they are celestials.

For example, "Resting Hermes". The god of commerce and eloquence sits on the edge of a cliff. He is tired, breathing heavily, it seems that this is an ordinary man who will now continue the difficult path. However, the buckles on his feet betray God, you can’t walk in them - you can only fly.

Statue of Satyr. The face of this horned god resembles an old man. He is bearded, his forehead is deeply wrinkled, his eyes are narrowed. The forest god stood up on tiptoe and seemed to be rushing somewhere. But if you look closely, you can see that he is dancing his Bacchic dance, only restrained.

Poseidon in the works of Lysippus looks majestic, as befits a lord. At the same time, the artist was able to depict the underwater king as part of the sea. Creases on the forehead, curls on the head, hand movements - everything resembles waves.

Very much Zeus Lysippus stands out against the background of images of the main Olympic god in the works of other authors. His Zeus is not just the ruler of the world, but also a very tragic and even tired character. A God with a great responsibility on his shoulders.

An attempt to depict a child's figure in sculpture

As you know, artists did not immediately learn to depict children. Usually they took as a basis the face and figure of an adult andthey just "reduced" it. Lysippus was the first in ancient Greece to break this tradition. The sculptor depicted the young Eros as a child.

The body turned out to be tender, not yet developed. The head is larger than that of an adult, plump lips, a small mouth and cheeks - everything suggests that God is still very young.

It is clear that Eros is tense. The boy tries to pull the string, but it is given to him with great difficulty. Now he was already bent over, stretched out his arms and turned his head.

And here you can trace the find of the sculptor - the author depicts a figure in different planes. Which gives the statue depth and space.

Macedonian court painter

Contemporaries appreciated and admired the works of the nugget. Alexander the Great himself could not pass by. The sculptor Lysippus was honored to become Macedonian's personal artist.

Unfortunately, in our time it is impossible to appreciate the work of the sculptor, depicting the commander in full growth. They, like other works, have not survived to this day. The Romans also made good copies of them.

They say the most famous was the sculpture "Alexander with a spear." On it, the commander looked towards the left shoulder, while with his left hand he leaned on a spear, while his right hand was on his side. Later, artists often borrowed the motif of this work, depicting kings and generals in the same pose. All great rulers wanted to be like Macedonian.

Today you can see the "Alexander with a Spear" in the Hermitage. There is a copy of the great statue,however, its size does not exceed a few centimeters.

Portrait genre

More lucky portraits of Alexander the Great. Almost the founder of portrait sculpture in ancient Greece was Lysippus. The sculptor so skillfully portrayed the commander that Macedonian did not allow anyone else to make his portraits.

In his works, Lysippus depicted the great king on the one hand as a strong personality, on the other hand, as a person who had lost peace and confidence. Often the commander looks like a person who has experienced a lot and is rather tired of life.

The sculptor did not idealize his ruler. He portrayed a man, not a classic hero.

Art critics believe that Lysippus once made portraits of Socrates, the seven wise men and Euripides. These were works not from nature, but made from memories, descriptions and early painted portraits.

There is also reason to believe that the found Roman bronze head, a portrait of an unknown athlete, belonged to the hand of a great sculptor. Moreover, it is probably a self-portrait. Here the author showed a simple person with a rude face.

Last years of life

It is difficult for our contemporaries to understand what kind of person the great sculptor Lysippus was. The artist's biography is practically unknown.

According to legend, the ancient author died of starvation at a very old age. Allegedly, Lysippus could not tear himself away from the last sculpture, so he forgot about physiological needs.

At the same time, historians are sure that with him in the workshophis disciples, assistants and sons worked. Therefore, it is difficult to talk about the exact cause of Lysippus' death.

Another legend says that after each successfully sold work, the great Greek set aside a gold coin for himself. After his death, it turned out that there were more than 1500 coins.

The multifaceted work of the artist brought him fame outside of Ancient Greece. Then they began to compare him with the greatest classic - Phidias.

The sculptor's contribution to world culture

Summing up, we can say that the artist "light movements of the hands" has created a revolution in the art world. Him:

• changed body proportions in sculpture, lengthened arms, reduced head;
• learned to depict their inner impulses in the movements of his characters;
• tried in sculpture to depict life itself with its anxieties and doubts;
• in his works, young characters look like children in face and body;
• opened the way for portrait sculpture;
• created the ideal of a person - portrayed the characters not as they are, but as the artist imagined them.

Lysippus was the most famous sculptor of antiquity. In each work, the artist tried to depict the restless nature of his era. And he did it.