Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Greek God Hermes

  The statue of Hermes with Dionysius is one of the only remaining masterpieces of the Ancient Greek sculptor Praxiteles dating back to 343 B.C.E. Found at Olympia, intact and on its base,as of right now it still resides at the Archaeological Museum at Olympia.



Praxiteles statues were meant to be watched from all angles. His style always set him above the other sculptors of his time.  He always tried new techniques to make his artwork "ripple with life" and be as natural as possible.  To get that naturalistic representation he would use smooth curves, light and shadow.  One of the techniques that he used was to polish the marble (which was his favorite stone to sculpt with) to make the light reflect and contour off of the statue giving it a lifelike essence.  His sculpting style was delicate and luminous, and gave it the body a sensuous texture.

http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/westciv/Praxiteles.html