The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Torso of a Kouros

Torso of a Kouros

c. 550 BCE
Overall: 62.5 cm (24 5/8 in.)
Location: 102B Greek

Did You Know?

In antiquity, brightly colored paint would probably have rendered this kouros more lifelike.

Description

Known as a kouros, the ancient Greek word for a youth, this fragmentary statue belongs to a relatively rare type of large-scale stone sculpture made for little more than a century—shortly before 600 BC to soon after 500 BC. A nude youth standing with arms to the sides and one foot slightly advanced, the type probably originated under Egyptian influence, but then developed along entirely Greek lines. Found in sanctuaries as well as cemeteries across the ancient Greek world, kouroi may represent gods—especially Apollo—as well as mortals. Although incomplete, this kouros retains much of its beautifully finished and patterned surface.
  • ?-1953
    (Mrs. Paul Mallon, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1953-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • "Greek Youth in Cleveland," Archaeology, vol. 7.no. 4 (1954). Reproduced and mentioned p. 252 www.jstor.org
    Lee, Sherman E. “The Cleveland Kouros.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 41, no. 3 (1954): 43–51. www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 11 archive.org
    Cahn, H.A. "DER KUROS VON CLEVELAND." Antike Kunst 1, no. 2 (1958): 75-76. Reproduced and mentioned: pp. 75-76, pl. 32-33. www.jstor.org
    Richter, Gisela M. A. Kouroi, Archaic Greek Youths; A Study of the Development of the Kouros Type in Greek Sculpture. London: Phaidon Press, 1960. Mentioned, p. 112 (Melos Group).
    Schefold, Karl. Meisterwerke griechischer Kunst. Basel. Kunsthalle. Catalogues. 1960-1961. Basel: B. Schwabe, 1960. Pp. 170, 173, cat. VIII 163
    Carter, Martha L. Classical Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1961. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 2; Plate 2 archive.org
    Hoffmann, H. (1961). [Review of Kouroi. Archaic Greek Youths, a Study of the Development of the Kouros Type in Greek Sculpture, by Gisela M. A. Richter]. American Journal of Archaeology, 65(3), 319–321 (Cleveland kouros mentioned). doi.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 20 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 20 archive.org
    Kenfield, John F. "The Question of the Cleveland Kouros." American Journal of Archaeology 78, no. 1 (1974): 70-71. Reproduced and mentioned: pp. 70-71, pl. 21. www.jstor.org
    Ridgway, Brunilde Sismondo. The Archaic Style in Greek Sculpture. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1977. pp. 36, 81; pl. 3-4.
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 22 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 9 archive.org
    May, Sally Ruth. Knockouts: a pocket guide. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Reproduced: no. 9, p. 14 - 15
    Spivey, Nigel Jonathan. Greek Sculpture. 2013. Ill. p. 134, Fig. 5.7.
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 79
  • Das Meschenbuild in der europäischen Kunst (Images of Man in Western Art). Antikenmuseum, Charlottenburg, Germany (July 5-September 28, 1980).
    Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).
    Juxtapositions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 11-October 10, 1965).
    In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 4-April 7, 1958).
  • {{cite web|title=Torso of a Kouros|url=false|author=|year=c. 550 BCE|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1953.125