This is one of the best preserved examples of the Archaic kouros. It shows all the characteristics of the type: the left foot advanced, huge thighs, the broad shoulders, narrow hips, the slight smile and almond-shaped eyes. The treatment of the male physique is just on the point of moving from decorative patterning to accurate anatomy — his stomach muscles and shoulder blades for example are much more naturalistic than in earlier kouroi.
Although kouroi represent the athletic ideal, the sculptor still gives a hint of the block of stone from which the figure is carved. The pose is very frontal, and the waist has been narrowed to allow room for the carving of the forearms
Munich Glyptothek 169
Cast signed by H. Zöller, München
Lippold: Griechische Plastik, 75 (n.8), pl. 22.1
Buschor, E: Frügriechische Jünglinge, 99
Richter: Kouroi, 196, pls. LXXXVII & LXXXVIII
Wolters, P: Brunn-Bruckmann, Denkmäler Griechischer und Römischer Skulptur, 661-2, text vol. V (1952)
Said to have been found in Attica
