Sculpture is one of the oldest types of creativity, because people are used to depicting what they think about. Sculpture has a huge advantage over other types of fine art: sculptures and statues are much stronger than art objects such as paintings, dishes.

Ancient sculptures provide an opportunity to look at the world through the eyes of their creators, while at the same time, modern sculptures will open up today's view of the world for posterity. Well, today it is already possible to single out sculptures that have become famous throughout the world and have become iconic for a people, or religion, or an era as a whole.

The Sphinx is a majestic sculpture that can safely be called one of the most ancient and mysterious creations of man. The sculpture itself is a monument of a lying lion with a human head. The impressive dimensions of the sculpture - 20 meters in height and 73 meters in length - make one revere its creators, given that the age of the sculpture, according to various studies, ranges from 200,000 years to 6000 - 5000 BC.

The famous Sphinx in Giza is located as an eternal and silent guardian of the valley. Egyptian pyramids. Today the Sphinx is going through its better days: the sculpture is heavily damaged both by natural forces, such as: sandstorms, air and water erosion, and by human efforts.

The sculpture of Aphrodite, made of snow-white marble, also known throughout the world as the Venus de Milo, is an iconic sculpture as it has almost ideal parameters, recognized as the standard of female beauty: 90-60-90. The whole history of Aphrodite from the island of Milos, from creation to discovery and current state, is shrouded in mystery.

The name of the sculptor of Venus is still a mystery to historians, but according to a legend that is popular on the islands Aegean Sea, a popular sculptor in his time, in search of a model, visited the island of Milos, where he discovered extraordinary beauty girl. Subsequently, he fell in love with his beautiful model. The statue dates back to about 120 BC, and Venus was discovered already in 1820 by a peasant named Yorgos, who, while cultivating his land, came across an invaluable find.

According to some reports, the sculpture was disassembled: separately the lower and upper parts, as well as the hands, one with an apple. To date, the hands themselves have not been found, but despite this defect, the sculpture of Venus de Milo is considered one of the most valuable exhibits of the Louvre.

In 1980, Auguste Rodin began work on the composition The Gates of Hell, and for two years he worked on perhaps his most famous creation, and in 1888, The Thinker was first publicly exhibited. During the work on the sculpture, Rodin changed direction several times.

Initially, the "Thinker" was "The Poet" and was supposed to be part of the composition dedicated to the "Divine Comedy". Initially, the prototype of The Thinker was Dante himself. Later, inspired by the works of Michelangelo, Rodin awarded his creation with physical strength and expanded the image of the poet to the universal image of the artist, but at the opening, Rodin noted that The Thinker is a monument to the workers of France.

84 years ago, on October 12, 1931, one of the most majestic statues of our time, the statue of Christ the Redeemer, was unveiled in Rio de Janeiro. This thirty-meter sculpture of Christ with arms outstretched over Rio rises majestically on top of Corcovado. The erection of such a monument is timed to coincide with the centenary of Brazil's independence.

It is noteworthy that the statue of Christ the Redeemer is a truly popular monument: a competition was announced in a popular weekly magazine for the best design of a statue that would become a symbol of Brazil. After the magazine “O Cruzeiro”, about 2.2 million reais were collected through the sale of subscriptions for the construction of the monument, which lasted about nine years. Today, the statue of Christ the Redeemer is in excellent condition thanks to regular reconstruction work.

The Statue of Liberty is an iconic structure in American culture and history. The sculpture itself symbolizes freedom and democracy, and in addition to its solemn meaning, it was also used as a lighthouse. It is believed that the statue itself is a gift from France for the centenary of US independence, but the opening of the monument was delayed for 10 years and was successfully held in 1885.

The famous creator took part in the creation of the Statue of Liberty eiffel tower Alexander Gustav Eiffel himself. The Statue of Liberty. If you climb observation deck in the "crown" of the statue, you can enjoy the view of New York Harbor.

The central attraction of Bangkok's Wat Traimit is a golden Buddha statue. The Golden Buddha is the world's largest solid gold statue, weighing 5.5 tons. Presumably the Golden Buddha was cast in the XIII-IV century. Interestingly, such a value was hidden from the public eye for a long time.

The temple itself, in which the statue is located today, was built not so long ago in the twentieth century. And the statue found itself in a very mysterious way: for the temple, an old statue was brought from an abandoned temple from the northern part of the country, and during the transportation of the statue, a part of the gypsum was beaten off, and under it - a statue of pure gold!

On August 23, 1913, the center of Copenhagen was decorated with the Little Mermaid sculpture - a monument to the heroine of the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. Carl Jacobsen commissioned the statue in 1909, inspired by Russian ballet, but Edward Erickson captured a beautiful fairy tale.

Interestingly, two models posed for the creation of the sculpture: Elline Price, the ballerina became the “face” of the little mermaid, and the wife of the sculptor himself, Elline Erickson, posed for the figure. After Carl Jacobsen presented the Little Mermaid to Copenhagen, the sculpture repeatedly suffered from the hands of vandals, and also served as a sign of protest. Today, the Little Mermaid business card Denmark - completely reconstructed.

There are many varieties of sculpture in form, purpose, material.

The shape of the sculpture can be round and relief.

Round the sculpture can be viewed from different sides, it is surrounded by free space.

Its main types: bust, statue, sculptural group.

E. Falcone "Winter" (1771). Marble. Hermitage (Petersburg)

Relief

In the relief, the figure(s) are partly immersed in a flat background and protrude from it.

High relief on the pediment of the Admiralty. Sculptor Ivan Ivanovich Terebenev
There are three types of relief:
bas-relief (a convex figure protrudes less than half);
high relief (a convex figure protrudes halfway);
counter-relief (the figure is not convex, but concave)

bas-relief

Bas-relief - a common type of decoration architectural structures and decorative products of all times, known since the Paleolithic era: the first bas-reliefs are rock carvings. Bas-reliefs are also often placed on the pedestals of monuments, on steles, memorial plaques, coins, medals.

Sculptor S.E. Cherepanov. Memorial plaque on the house where science fiction writer G. Altov (Altshuller) lived the last years of his life from 1990 to 1998. Installed October 15, 2003 Petrozavodsk

High relief

High relief - a kind of sculptural relief, when the image protrudes above the background plane by more than half the volume of the depicted parts. A common type of decoration of architectural structures; allows you to display multi-figure scenes and landscapes.

counter-relief

Counter-relief - a deep relief obtained from a mechanical impression of a regular relief in a soft material (clay, wax) or when removing a plaster mold from the relief. Could be used as a seal to obtain a convex print.

Ancient Egyptian counter-relief

Types of sculpture by purpose

monumental sculpture

Monumental sculpture is associated with architecture. These are monuments and monuments that are created to perpetuate the memory of famous people or significant events. Monumental sculpture is distinguished by its large size and ideological content. Monumental art got its name from the Latin monumentum, from moneo - I remind you), it should always be sublime and even majestic. Works of monumental art should be created in harmony with architecture and landscape.

Henry Moore. Sculpture in the harbor of Risbach (Zurich-Seefeld)
Monumental art acquires special significance in periods of global socio-political transformations, in times of social upsurge, intellectual and cultural flourishing, when creativity is called upon to express the most relevant ideas.

Sculptor I. Kozlovsky, architect P. Butenko "The squad of Alexander Nevsky" (1993). Pskov
The monument is a very significant monument in size. There are whole memorial complexes - territories with monumental architectural structures located on it: mausoleums, pantheons, sculptural groups, obelisks of glory and monuments dedicated to outstanding events in the history of the country and the people inhabiting it.
The Khatyn memorial complex is a village in Belarus, destroyed on March 22, 1943.

punitive detachment as revenge for the murder of several German soldiers. 149 residents of Khatyn were burned alive or shot. In 1969, a memorial complex was opened on the site where the village was located.

Of the adult residents of the village, only the 56-year-old village blacksmith Iosif Iosifovich Kaminsky (1887-1973) survived. Burnt and wounded, he regained consciousness only late at night, when the punitive detachments left the village. Among the corpses of fellow villagers, he found his son Adam. The boy was mortally wounded in the stomach and received severe burns. He died in his father's arms. Joseph Kaminsky with his son Adam served as the prototypes for the famous monument in the memorial complex.

S. Selikhanov. The main monument in Khatyn
No less famous are the memorial complexes Brest Fortress (Brest), Mamaev Kurgan (Volgograd), Victory Park (Moscow), etc.

Monumental and decorative sculpture

It includes all types of decoration of architectural structures and complexes (atlantes, caryatids, friezes, pediment, fountain, garden and park sculpture, etc.).

Atlanta

Atlas is a sculpture of a man supporting the ceilings of a building, a balcony, a cornice, etc. The name of this architectural element goes back to Ancient Greece: Atlas or Atlas in ancient Greek mythology was the name of a mighty titan holding the vault of heaven on his shoulders. Atlas is a symbol of endurance and patience.

Atlanta (Hermitage)

Caryatids

A caryatid is a statue of a dressed woman that replaces a column or pilaster in a structure. These figures were used in the architecture of ancient Greece.

Caryatids. Athens, Greece)

Caryatids as a pilaster

Frieze

Frieze (fr. frise) - a decorative composition in the form of a horizontal strip or ribbon framing part of an architectural structure.

Sculptural frieze on one of the Empire churches near Moscow

Gable

Fronton (fr. fronton, from lat. frons, frontis - forehead, front of the wall) - the completion (usually triangular) of the facade of the building, limited by two roof slopes on the sides and a cornice at the base.

Pediment of the building of the Greek National Assembly in Athens

Fountains

Fountains (usually these are hydraulic structures that perform a decorative function) are often decorated with sculptures.

Fountain "Samson" in Peterhof
Manneken Pis is one of the most famous landmarks in Brussels. This is a miniature bronze statue-fountain in the form of a naked boy urinating into a pool.

Sculptor - Jerome Duquesnoy (1619)
This statue has been repeatedly stolen and dressed up in costumes.

"Manneken Pis" in the form of the US Air Force

Garden sculpture

The landscape gardening sculpture is intended for decoration of gardens and parks. It can have a decorative, propaganda, educational and memorial character.

Sculpture "Cupid and Psyche". Workshop of Lorenzo Bernini XVII century. Summer garden(Petersburg)

There are also short-lived types of sculptures: ice, sand, more durable clay, wood, as well as modeling, carving, artistic casting, forging, chasing, etc.

First a man came up with an image - the first cave drawings were created back when ancient people lived in caves. Then sculpture appeared, and many sculptors were so talented that their works became the property of mankind.

Statue of the goddess of love Aphrodite- very famous and very ancient statue. The work is also known as "Venus de Milo". The statue was probably created in the 2nd century BC. This majestic statue of white marble is more than 2 meters high. Today, the Venus de Milo is stored in the Louvre, in a gallery specially designated for her.

"Venus de Milo"

Statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil known throughout the world. The 30-meter statue is installed on the Corcovado hill, at an altitude of more than 700 meters above sea level. The opening of the statue took place in 1931. The sculpture is so popular that in other cities of the world they tried to replicate it.

Statue of Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro

Moai statues called the mysterious stone inhabitants of Easter Island, which belongs to Chile. Presumably giants appeared in the first millennium of our era. Probably, the statues were created by the inhabitants of ancient Polynesia. These are huge monolithic figures, up to 6 meters high and weighing more than 20 tons. The material from which the moai are made is also unique - these are compressed volcanic rocks.

Moai statues, Chile

A statue "Little Mermaid" is in Copenhagen. This is a monument to the young heroine of the fairy tale G.Kh. Andersen, created by sculptor Edward Eriksen.

A touching bronze figurine sits on a stone next to the harbour. The statue was erected in 1913.

Little Mermaid Statue, Copenhagen

Buddha statue in Leshan- This is a gigantic statue carved into the rock. According to historians, the creation of the statue began in 713 and lasted for 90 years. The monument is located in China, in the province of Sichuan.

Buddha statue in Leshan

Nelson's Column installed on Trafalgar Square in London. The height of the statue of the admiral itself is 5.5 meters, but it is mounted on a 46-meter column and looks small. The sculptural composition was installed in 1843 in memory of the famous Admiral Horatio Nelson.

Nelson's Column, London

famous Statue of Liberty called the symbol of New York and the symbol of the United States. The height of this statue with a pedestal is 93 meters. In one hand, "Lady Liberty" holds a torch, and in the other, a tablet. The statue has indeed become a symbol for a long time, and its image often adorns everything that is somehow connected with the United States.

Statue of Liberty, USA

Completes the list famous statues the symbol of the city Brussels in Belgium. This monument does not have any special grandeur, and it is difficult to call it a model of beauty. However, Manneken Pis statue very famous. Many legends are associated with its origin. It is only certain that the age of the statue is not a single century.

"Manneken Pis", Belgium, Brussels

The most beautiful sculptures and statues in the world (30 photos)

Sculpture of a man

/Order sculpture/

Let's make an author's sculpture of a person to order!

The creative workshop of the sculptor Igor Seliverstov was founded in 1997 by the best graduates of the Repin Institute. We create beautiful statues of men and women of any size in our own production - from an elegant figurine of a beautiful girl and a miniature portrait of your child to a large street sculptural composition real size.

We are ordered sculptural images of people

First, a person came up with an image - the first rock paintings were created back when ancient people lived in caves. Then sculpture appeared, and many sculptors were so talented that their works became the property of mankind.

Statue of the goddess of love Aphrodite- a very famous and very ancient statue. The work is also known as "Venus de Milo". The statue was probably created in the 2nd century BC. This majestic statue of white marble is more than 2 meters high. Today, the Venus de Milo is stored in the Louvre, in a gallery specially designated for her.

"Venus de Milo"

Statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil known throughout the world. The 30-meter statue is installed on the Corcovado hill, at an altitude of more than 700 meters above sea level. The opening of the statue took place in 1931. The sculpture is so popular that in other cities of the world they tried to replicate it.

Statue of Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro

Moai statues called the mysterious stone inhabitants of Easter Island, which belongs to Chile. Presumably giants appeared in the first millennium of our era. Probably, the statues were created by the inhabitants of ancient Polynesia. These are huge monolithic figures, up to 6 meters high and weighing more than 20 tons. The material from which the moai are made is also unique - these are compressed volcanic rocks.

Moai statues, Chile

A statue "Little Mermaid" is in Copenhagen. This is a monument to the young heroine of the fairy tale G.Kh. Andersen, created by sculptor Edward Eriksen. A touching bronze figurine sits on a stone next to the harbour. The statue was erected in 1913.

Little Mermaid Statue, Copenhagen

Buddha statue in Leshan- This is a gigantic statue carved into the rock. According to historians, the creation of the statue began in 713 and lasted for 90 years. The monument is located in China, in the province of Sichuan.

Buddha statue in Leshan

Nelson's Column installed on Trafalgar Square in London. The height of the statue of the admiral itself is 5.5 meters, but it is mounted on a 46-meter column and looks small. The sculptural composition was installed in 1843 in memory of the famous Admiral Horatio Nelson.

Nelson's Column, London

famous Statue of Liberty called the symbol of New York and the symbol of the United States. The height of this statue with a pedestal is 93 meters. In one hand, "Lady Liberty" holds a torch, and in the other, a tablet. The statue has indeed become a symbol for a long time, and its image often adorns everything that is somehow connected with the United States.

Statue of Liberty, USA

The symbol of the city completes the list of famous statues. Brussels in Belgium. This monument does not have any special grandeur, and it is difficult to call it a model of beauty. However, Manneken Pis statue very famous. Many legends are associated with its origin. It is only certain that the age of the statue is not a single century.

"Manneken Pis", Belgium, Brussels

It is not so easy to choose a certain number of the most famous statues in the world, because for each nation the concept of “the most famous” is different. If, for example, for New Yorkers it is the Statue of Liberty, then for Copenhageners it is the Little Mermaid, for Volgograd residents it is the Motherland, and for the inhabitants of Prague it is a monument to Kafka.

1. The work of the great Michelangelo "David"- is a symbol of the Renaissance and personifies the power of human creative genius. The young and ambitious Michelangelo created his David in 1501. to decorate the Florence Cathedral. Unlike the traditional image of David with the head of a defeated Goliath, the sculpture represents a young hero preparing to enter the battle. David is one of the most copied sculptures in the world today.

2. Venus de Milo by an unknown author. This legendary statue has graced the Louvre since 1821. According to experts, the statue was made in the period from 130 to 100 BC. Presumably, the ancient masters Agesander or Praxiteles could have been the authors of the work. The height of the white marble statue exceeds 2m. Found a statue in the ground on Milos in 1820. Then she was whole and had hands, but in the course of conflict situations for its possession, the hands were damaged and are considered lost.

3. The work of Rodin "The Thinker". It was also recognized as the best work of the author, although originally "The Thinker" was planned as part of a sculptural composition that was supposed to decorate the gates of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris. But, having completed the work, Rodin realized that the statue reveals a broader theme - a person experiencing a deep inner struggle. Dante himself became the model for the future sculpture.

4. Pietta Michelangelo "Lamentation of Christ". The sculpture, 174 cm high, was created in 1499. and today is the decoration of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The Lamentation of Christ is Michelangelo's first and most famous pieta; it represents two life-size figures - the Virgin Mary and Christ: a mother holding her dying son in her arms. The author carved the composition from a single piece of marble.

5. Sculpture of Octavian Augustus. The first Roman emperor is known to everyone since the school bench, his main merits were the cessation of internecine wars and the establishment of peace in Rome. Found a two-meter sculpture in 1863, it is a copy of a bronze original, which was created in 20 BC. The sculpture is said to be a portrait resemblance to Octavian himself.

6. Sculpture by Rodin "Kiss". Love has always been the main inspirational force for artists. Rodin, imbued with the vibes of one of the most romantic couples in the history of Paulo Malates and Francesca Rimini, created and dedicated his sculpture "The Kiss" to them. During the creation of the composition, the author himself was an absorbing wave of love for the young Camille Claudel, who was 26 years younger than Rodin, and therefore his work was perfectly able to convey all the sensuality and passion of such a classic plot.

7. Statue of Themis - the goddess of justice. She is one of the most recognizable in the world. A woman, blindfolded, with scales in one hand and a sword in the other, determines the "weight" of a person's good and bad deeds in order to decide his posthumous fate. The double-edged sword not only promises retribution, but also warns of responsibility.

8. The masterpiece of the ancient Greek sculptor Myron - "Discobolus". The original bronze sculpture, dated to the 5th century BC, is kept in National Museum Rome. Miron's contemporaries describe him as an unsurpassed expert in anatomy, but, unfortunately, he does not have the talent to reflect feelings on people's faces. The main characters of Myron's works were animals, gods and famous warriors.

9. Ancient sculpture "Hermes with the baby Dionysus" by the Greek Praxiteles. The author created his masterpiece around 330-340. BC. His marble work was discovered in 1877. during the excavations of the Temple of Hera. The height of the sculpture on the pedestal was 3m70cm, Hermes himself is depicted with a height of 2m12cm. - he leans against the trunk of a tree, resting on the way. The baby, probably reaching for a bunch of grapes (it has not been preserved, like one hand of Hermes), has, according to the tradition of classical art, the proportions of an adult.

10. Sculpture by master Silvio Gow Jadson “Girl from Savannah feeding the birds”. The work was completed relatively recently - in 1936. The author created it as a garden sculpture to decorate the Massachusetts garden. Four copies were made of the statue, and one of them was installed on the territory of the Savannah cemetery in Georgia.

planning travel to Greece, many people are interested not only in comfortable hotels, but also in the fascinating history of this ancient country, an integral part of which are art objects.

A large number of treatises by famous art historians are devoted specifically to ancient Greek sculpture as a fundamental branch of world culture. Unfortunately, many monuments of that time did not survive in their original form, and are known from later copies. By studying them, one can trace the history of the development of Greek fine art from the Homeric period to the Hellenistic era, and highlight the most striking and famous creations of each period.

Aphrodite de Milo

The world-famous Aphrodite from the island of Milos belongs to the Hellenistic period of Greek art. At this time, by the forces of Alexander the Great, the culture of Hellas began to spread far beyond the Balkan Peninsula, which was noticeably reflected in the visual arts - sculptures, paintings and frescoes became more realistic, the faces of the gods on them have human features - relaxed postures, an abstract look, a soft smile .

Statue of Aphrodite, or as the Romans called it, Venus, is made of snow-white marble. Its height is slightly more than human height, and is 2.03 meters. The statue was discovered by chance by an ordinary French sailor, who in 1820, together with a local peasant, dug up Aphrodite near the remains of an ancient amphitheater on the island of Milos. During its transportation and customs disputes, the statue lost its arms and pedestal, but a record has been preserved of the author of the masterpiece indicated on it: Agesander, the son of a resident of Antioch Menida.

Today, after a thorough restoration, Aphrodite is exhibited in the Louvre in Paris, attracting millions of tourists every year with its natural beauty.

Nike of Samothrace

The time of creation of the statue of the goddess of victory Nike dates back to the 2nd century BC. Studies have shown that Nika was installed above the sea coast on sheer cliff- her marble clothes flutter as if from the wind, and the slope of the body represents a constant movement forward. The thinnest folds of clothing cover the strong body of the goddess, and powerful wings are spread in joy and triumph of victory.

The head and hands of the statue have not been preserved, although individual fragments were discovered during excavations in 1950. In particular, Karl Lehmann with a group of archaeologists found the right hand of the goddess. Nike of Samothrace is now one of the outstanding exhibits of the Louvre. Her hand was never added to the general exhibition, only the right wing, which was made of plaster, underwent restoration.

Laocoon and his sons

A sculptural composition depicting the mortal struggle of Laocoön, the priest of the god Apollo, and his sons with two snakes sent by Apollo in retaliation for the fact that Laocoön did not listen to his will and tried to prevent the Trojan horse from entering the city.

The statue was made of bronze, but its original has not survived to this day. In the 15th century, a marble copy of the sculpture was found on the territory of the "golden house" of Nero, and by order of Pope Julius II, it was installed in a separate niche of the Vatican Belvedere. In 1798, the statue of Laocoon was moved to Paris, but after the fall of Napoleon's rule, the British returned it to its original place, where it is kept to this day.

The composition, depicting Laocoön's desperate deathbed struggle with divine punishment, inspired many sculptors of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and gave rise to a fashion for depicting complex, vortex-like movements of the human body in fine art.

Zeus from Cape Artemision

The statue, found by divers near Cape Artemision, is made of bronze, and is one of the few pieces of art of this type that has survived to this day in its original form. Researchers disagree on whether the sculpture belongs specifically to Zeus, believing that it can also depict the god of the seas, Poseidon.

The statue has a height of 2.09 m, and depicts the supreme Greek god, who raised his right hand in order to throw lightning in righteous anger. The lightning itself has not been preserved, but numerous smaller figurines show that it looked like a flat, strongly elongated bronze disk.

From almost two thousand years of being under water, the statue almost did not suffer. Only the eyes, which were supposedly made of ivory and encrusted with precious stones, disappeared. You can see this work of art in the National Archaeological Museum, which is located in Athens.

Statue of Diadumen

A marble copy of a bronze statue of a young man who himself crowns himself with a diadem - a symbol of sports victory, probably adorned the venue for competitions in Olympia or Delphi. The diadem at that time was a red woolen bandage, which, along with laurel wreaths, was awarded to the winners of the Olympic Games. The author of the work, Poliklet, performed it in his favorite style - the young man is in easy movement, his face displays complete calm and concentration. The athlete behaves like a well-deserved winner - he does not show fatigue, although his body needs rest after the fight. In sculpture, the author managed to very naturally convey not only small elements, but also general position body, correctly distributing the mass of the figure. The full proportionality of the body is the pinnacle of the development of this period - classicism of the 5th century.

Although the bronze original has not survived to our time, copies of it can be seen in many museums around the world - the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, the Louvre, the Metropolitan, the British Museum.

Aphrodite Braschi

A marble statue of Aphrodite depicts the goddess of love, who was naked before taking her legendary, often described in myths, bath, returning her virginity. Aphrodite in her left hand holds her removed clothes, which gently fall on a nearby jug. From an engineering point of view, this decision made the fragile statue more stable, and gave the sculptor the opportunity to give it a more relaxed pose. The uniqueness of Aphrodite Brasca is that this is the first known statue of the goddess, the author of which decided to portray her naked, which at one time was considered unheard of insolence.

There are legends according to which the sculptor Praxiteles created Aphrodite in the image of his beloved, hetaera Phryne. When her former admirer, orator Euthias, found out about this, he raised a scandal, as a result of which Praxiteles was accused of unforgivable blasphemy. At the trial, the defender, seeing that his arguments did not impress the judge, pulled off Phryne's clothes to show those present that such a perfect body of the model simply cannot harbor a dark soul. The judges, being adherents of the concept of kalokagatiya, were forced to fully acquit the defendants.

The original statue was taken to Constantinople, where it died in a fire. Many copies of Aphrodite have survived to our time, but they all have their own differences, as they were restored according to verbal and written descriptions and images on coins.

marathon youth

The statue of a young man is made of bronze, and presumably depicts the Greek god Hermes, although there are no prerequisites or attributes of him in the hands or clothes of the young man. The sculpture was raised from the bottom of the Marathon Bay in 1925, and since that time it has replenished the exposition of the National archaeological museum in Athens. Due to the fact that the statue was under water for a long time, all its features are very well preserved.

The style in which the statue is made betrays the style of the famous sculptor Praxiteles. The young man stands in a relaxed pose, his hand rests on the wall, near which the figure was installed.

Discus thrower

The statue of the ancient Greek sculptor Myron has not been preserved in its original form, but is widely known throughout the world thanks to bronze and marble copies. The sculpture is unique in that for the first time it depicted a person in a complex, dynamic movement. Such a bold decision of the author served as a vivid example for his followers, who, with no less success, created objects of art in the style of "Figura serpentinata" - a special technique depicting a person or animal in an often unnatural, tense, but very expressive, from the observer's point of view, pose.

Delphic charioteer

The bronze sculpture of a charioteer was discovered during the 1896 excavations at the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi and is a classic example of ancient art. The figure depicts an ancient Greek youth driving a wagon during Pythian Games.

The uniqueness of the sculpture lies in the fact that the inlay of the eyes with precious stones has been preserved. The eyelashes and lips of the young man are decorated with copper, and the headband is made of silver, and presumably also had inlay.

The time of creation of the sculpture, theoretically, is at the junction of archaic and early classics - its pose is characterized by stiffness and the absence of any hint of movement, but the head and face are made with a rather great realism. As in later sculptures.

Athena Parthenos

Majestic goddess athena statue has not survived to our time, but there are many copies of it, restored according to ancient descriptions. The sculpture was completely made of ivory and gold, without the use of stone or bronze, and stood in the main temple of Athens - the Parthenon. A distinctive feature of the goddess is a high helmet, decorated with three crests.

The history of the creation of the statue was not without fatal moments: on the shield of the goddess, the sculptor Phidias, in addition to the image of the battle with the Amazons, placed his portrait in the form of a weak old man who lifts a heavy stone with both hands. The public of that time ambiguously regarded the act of Phidias, which cost him his life - the sculptor was imprisoned, where he committed suicide with the help of poison.

Greek culture has become the founder for the development of fine arts around the world. Even today, looking at some modern paintings and statues, one can detect the influence of this ancient culture.

Ancient Hellas became the cradle in which the cult of human beauty in its physical, moral and intellectual manifestation was actively brought up. Inhabitants of Greece of that time, they not only worshiped many Olympic gods, but also tried to resemble them as much as possible. All this is displayed in bronze and marble statues - they not only convey the image of a person or a deity, but also make them close to each other.

Although many of the statues have not survived to the present, their exact copies can be seen in many museums around the world.

Kastoria, fur city

The name of Kastoria, from the word castoras, which means in Greek - BEAVER. This is a major trading city. Kastoria has been famous for the work of fur traders for many centuries. A visitor to the city cannot fail to notice the noise of sewing machines that comes from every house. Kastoria is located 50 miles from the Albanian border in a remote corner of northwestern Greece. It is a cosmopolitan city. The location of Kastoria is nothing short of spectacular. Surrounded high mountains Pindus, narrow streets and countless lanes are characteristic of the city located on the Orestiada lake.

Greece - Pelion village Zagora

Disaster in Crete

Mark Cicero

Restaurants and taverns in Greece

The most common buildings in Greece after residential buildings are churches and taverns. The former satisfy spiritual hunger, and the latter, of course, bodily. And if the history of the Church in Hellas has almost 20 centuries, then the history of cooking is all 40! The very first cookbook on Earth was written by the Greek cook Archestratos in 330 BC. Greek cuisine has always differed and is distinguished by the most favorable influence on the human body and its way of life.