Ancient Greece

2 works

Ancient Greek art grew over many centuries, from the stiff, patterned statues of the Archaic period (about 650–480 BC) to ever more lifelike figures in later times.

Greek sculptors carved gods, heroes and young athletes in marble and cast them in bronze, and their statues were originally brightly painted.

Most Greek bronze statues were later melted down for their metal, so the few that survive, like the sleeping Eros, are true treasures.

Marble statue of a kouros (youth)
Ancient Greece, c. 590–580 BCBronze statue of Eros sleeping
Ancient Greece, 3rd–2nd century BC