Lysippos of Sikyon (390-ca. 310 BCE)
Lysippos of Sikyon was born at Sikyon around 390 BC. A worker in bronze in his youth, he taught himself the art of sculpture, becoming later head of the school of Argos and Sikyon.
He was the personal sculptor of Alexander the Great.
He produced according to the Pliny the elder, more than 1500 works, all of them in bronze. None of his works has survived, but only certain copies.
Agias from Farsala.
Marble copy of bronze by Lysippos.
It was a dedication to Delphi from Daocho. The pancratiast's body is slim and tall. He stands firmly on the ground, full of life. The expression on the face is unique, all characteristics of a Lysippian creation.
(Museum of Delphi, Greece)
"Other artists make men as they are, I make them as they appear".
These are the words of Lysippos of Sikyon, expressing his unique style. With him the art of sculpture receives new blood. The stocky full of muscles figure of Polykleitos Doryphoros is replaced by a more slender and graceful one.
Lysippos makes the legs slender and longer, the head also smaller, whose ratio is not one seventh of Polykleitos but one eighth. All these result in a more delicate, taller figure.
But the real significance of Lysippos is that he revolutionizes the art by giving to his works, a true third dimension. In this statue he succeeds that, by positioning the hands in such a way, extending one to the full, the other bent slightly underneath, all these in perfect harmony.
From whichever point you view the statue, this is its true face. Most of his works invite you to look them from all directions.
Reproduction statue available
By Lysippos of Sikyon, 4th century BCE Resting is a rare occurrence for the hero Hercules, but here he leans wearily after completing his Twelve Labors.
From the Musea Nazionale in Naples, this statue is named after its most famous owner and has an immense physical form modeled after the idealism of classical Greek heroes.

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