Abacus

Abacus

Abide

Archaic Smile

Moscophoros

Smiley

Aborigine

Relationship

El Boyero

Prov.1:1

The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

"who can abide in the fierceness of his anger?"~~~Cotton Mather

The Moscophoros of the Acropolis, ca 570 BCE

Moschophoros (Greek: μοσχοφόρος "calf-bearer") is an ancient Greek statue commonly known as The Calf Bearer. It was excavated in fragments in the Perserschutt in the Acropolis of Athens in 1864. The statue, dated c. 560 BC and estimated to have originally measured 1.65 meters (5.4 ft) in height, is now in the Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece.

The Moschophoros stands with his left foot a little forward, like other kouroi. He has a thick beard, a symbol of adulthood. He wears a thin cloak. The sculpture's nudity is the main aspect of the art as it adhered to the artistic conventions of the era. The cloak on the other hand, depicts him as a respectable and well-recognized citizen.^[3]

The challenge of representing man and animal together is successfully accomplished by this Archaic sculpture. The calf's legs are held firmly, making a bold X-shaped composition. This interaction between the calf and the calf-bearer represents a strong, inseparable bond between the two. The man in the sculpture is smiling, which is a unique and new feature that started from around this time in the art than from earlier Greek statues (and those from Egypt and the Near East).

The main idea of a connection between a man and an animal is strongly portrayed. The crossed legs of the calf with the arms of the calf-bearer creates unity between them. The forms are simple such as the round face, eyes and mouth are created with simple arcs. The beard represents an adult man. The body structure is well built depicting strength and power. His mouth and eyes are round in form giving the impression of a positive person, especially, as the man wears a smile on his face.

Head of a kouros in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens bearing a typical archaic smile.

Archaic smile

The Archaic smile was used by Greek Archaic sculptors,especially in the second quarter of the 6th century BCE, possibly to suggest that their subject was alive, and infused with a sense of well-being

The dying warrior from the west pediment of the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, Greece is an interesting context as the warrior is near death.

In the Archaic Period of ancient Greece (roughly 600 BCE to 480 BCE), the art that proliferated contained images of people who had the archaic smile.

Chess: "Abacus" "Abide" "Archaic Smile" "Moscophoros" "Smiley" "Aborigine" "Relationship" "El Boyero"