Doryphoros And Votive Figure Essay

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Comparing and Contrasting the Doryphoros and Votive Figures The Doryphoros is an ancient Greek statue originally cast in bronze around 440-450 B.C.E. It depicts a spear-bearer, though it is incomplete since the figure is missing the spear that is supposed to be held aloft in the left hand. The only surviving form of the Doryphoros is a marble Roman replica. The votive figures are small, humanoid Mesopotamian statues that were carved from gypsum and limestone around 2900-2350 B.C.E. These figures usually depict the worshippers who commissioned them. Though both art pieces are statues and originated from similar areas, they also carry many differences between their form and function in their respective societies. These differences reflect the differences in the society they come from.…show more content…
Neither use much color, though the votive figures have inlaid eyes and were originally given painted hair. They are vertically aligned and fairly symmetrical, emphasizing height rather than width. However, the Doryphoros is also constructed with more natural curves and slants, especially in the hips and shoulders, which counterbalance each other, and in the positioning of the left leg and arm. There is also asymmetry, not in the construction of the figure, but in the spear-bearer’s pose, which is not rigidly vertical like the votive figures. The votive figures are full of less natural, straighter lines, that, unlike the Doryphoros, do not carry that same lifelike ease that the Doryphoros does. There is also a difference in the detail level of the statues. The Doryphoros is full of finely rendered detail, from veins in the arms to the hair of the spear-bearer’s head. The votive statues, however, are less likely to carry this level of detail, and are more concerned with the abstracted human form than a realistic

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