AVT101- Final: Contrapposto

“Hermes Carrying the Infant Dionysus” [Credit: Hirmer Fotoarchiv, Munich]

David

Contrapposto, (Italian: “opposite”), in the visual arts, a sculptural scheme, originated by the ancient Greeks, in which the standing human figure is poised such that the weight rests on one leg (called the engaged leg), freeing the other leg, which is bent at the knee. With the weight shift, the hips, shoulders, and head tilt, suggesting relaxation with the subtle internal organic movement that denotes life. Contrapposto may be used for draped as well as nude figures. The Greeks invented this formula in the early 5th century bc as an alternative to the stiffly static pose—in which the weight is distributed equally on both legs—that had dominated Greek figure sculpture in earlier periods. There is a clear development from the “Critius Boy” of the 5th century, whose leg is bent while his torso remains erect, to the completely relaxed 4th-century “Hermes Carrying the Infant Dionysus” by Praxiteles. The rhythmic ease of the contrapposto pose vastly enlarged the expressive possibilities of figure sculpture.

Gothic sculpture occasionally retained the idea of a supporting and a bent leg, transforming it so that the figure appeared to rise from, rather than rest heavily upon, the ground. Italian Renaissance artists such as Donatello and Andrea del Verrocchio revived the classical formula, giving it the name contrapposto, which suggests the action and reaction of the various parts of the figure, and enriching the conception by scientific anatomical study. Michelangelo introduced a tension of masses by pushing one forward and another back—thrusting an arm forward over a receding leg, for instance. The “David,” which exemplifies his method, deeply influenced Gian Lorenzo Bernini and other Baroque sculptors. In modern times, contrapposto has been used for naturalistic representations of the relaxed standing figure, as in Aristide Maillol’s “Venus with a Necklace” (c. 1918–28).
http://www.britannica.com

Contrapposto is an Italian term used in the visual arts to describe a human figure standing with most of its weight on one foot so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs. This gives the figure a more dynamic, or alternatively relaxed appearance. It can also encompass thetension as a figure changes from resting on a given leg to walking or running upon it (so-called ponderation). Contrapposto is less emphasized than the more sinuous S Curve.

Contrapposto has been used since the dawn of classical western sculpture. According to the canon of the Classical Greek Sculptor Polykleitos in the fourth century B.C., it is one of the most important characteristics of his figurative works and those of his successors, Lysippos, Skopas, etc. The Polykletian statues for example Discophoros (discus-bearer) and Doryphoros(spear-bearer) are idealized athletic young men with the divine sense, and captured in contrapposto. In these works, the pelvis is no longer axial with the vertical statue as in the archaic style of earlier Greek sculpture until theEphebe-statue of Kritios ca. 480 B.C.

Contrapposto can be clearly seen in the Roman copies of the statues ofHermes and Heracles. A famous example is the marble statue of Hermes with the infant Dionysus in Olympia by Praxiteles. It can also be seen in the Roman copies of Polyclitus' amazon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrapposto