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Lysippos was born at Sikyon around 390 BCE. 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, 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)
Agias from Farsala
"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.
Apoxyomenos by Lysippos
But the real significance of Lysippos is that he revolutionizes the art by giving to his works a true third dimension: in Apoxyomenos he positions the hands in perfect harmony, extending one to the full, the other bent slightly underneath. Most of his works invite you to look them from all directions.
Hercules Farnese
Resting is a rare occurrence for the hero Hercules, but in Lysippos's hands he leans wearily after completing his Twelve Labors (above).
From the Musea Nazionale in Naples, this statue is named after its most famous owner (Farnese) and has an immense physical form modeled after the idealism of classical Greek heroes. Reproductions of this statue are available for purchase.
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