Contrapposto and the Hellenistic Age

In the Classical period, Greek sculptors found a way to make a standing figure look relaxed and alive. It is called contrapposto, Italian for "counterpose." The figure puts its weight on one leg. That leg is straight; the other bends at the knee. The hip above the weight-bearing leg rises, and the shoulders tilt the other way, so the body curves in a gentle S.

Looking closely: The caryatids. Six maidens in long, heavy robes hold up the roof of the porch. Each stands in contrapposto: one leg straight as a column, the other bent, its knee pressing forward through the cloth. On the straight leg the robe falls in vertical folds like fluting; over the bent leg it curves and pulls. The pose turns a column into a person standing at ease, and the paired poses on the two sides keep the porch balanced.

After Alexander the Great died in 323 BC, his generals divided his empire, and Greek culture spread from Egypt to Afghanistan. Art historians call the next three centuries the Hellenistic age. Its sculptors wanted drama: twisting bodies, strong feeling, wind and motion. The most famous example is the Winged Victory of Samothrace (about 200 to 190 BC), now in the Louvre: a winged goddess landing on the prow of a stone warship, her robes whipped back by the sea wind. (We describe it here without a picture.)