Torso of a Kouros

Torso of a Kouros

Unknown artist

Known as a kouros, the ancient Greek word for a youth, this fragmentary statue belongs to a relatively rare type of large-scale stone sculpture made for little more than a century—shortly before 600 BCE to soon after 500 BCE. A nude youth standing with arms to the sides and one foot slightly advanced, the type probably originated under Egyptian influence, but then developed along entirely Greek lines. Found in sanctuaries as well as cemeteries across the ancient Greek world, kouroi may represent gods—especially Apollo—as well as mortals. Although incomplete, this kouros retains much of its ...

Details

Medium
marble
Dimensions
overall: height 0.625 m
Department
Greek and Roman Art
Holding institution
Cleveland Museum of Art
Image provider
cleveland-museum-of-art
License
CC0-1.0
Credit
Gift of the Hanna Fund

Art Genome Taxonomy

8 tags

Subject Matter

  • Human Figure Both · 99%

    The image clearly shows the modeled chest, abdomen, pelvis, and upper legs of a human body; the museum identifies the work as a kouros, or youth.

  • Nude Both · 99%

    The surviving figure is visibly unclothed, and the museum explicitly describes the kouros type as a nude youth.

Styles and Movements

  • Figurative Sculpture Both · 98%

    The recognizable human body is represented in three dimensions, and the museum classifies the work as sculpture.

Medium and Techniques

  • Sculpture Both · 99%

    The object is a carved three-dimensional figure, and the catalog identifies its classification as Sculpture.

Time Periods

  • Ancient Art Metadata · 99%

    The work is dated circa 550 BCE, placing it within ancient art.

Geographic Regions

  • Greek Art Metadata · 99%

    The catalog identifies Greece as the place of origin and describes the work as an Archaic Greek kouros.

Materials

  • Marble Metadata · 99%

    The Cleveland Museum of Art specifies marble as the medium.

Cultural and Religious Styles

Source & rights

Unknown artist. Torso of a Kouros. Cleveland Museum of Art.