Contrapposto

Contrapposto

Contrapposto is an Italian term that means counterpose. It is 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 be used to refer to multiple figures which are in counter-pose (or opposite pose) to one another. It can further encompass the tension 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 BC, 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 the Ephebe-statue of Kritios ca. 480 BC.

Contrapposto can be clearly seen in the Roman copies of the statues of Hermes 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.

Classical contrapposto was revived in the Renaissance by the Italian artists Donatello and Leonardo da Vinci, followed by Michelangelo, Raphael and other artists of the High Renaissance. One of the major achievements of the Italian Renaissance was the re-discovery of contrapposto, although in Mannerism it became greatly over-used.

Contrapposto was an extremely important sculptural development for it is the first time in Western art that the human body is used to express a psychological disposition. The balanced, harmonious pose of the Kritios Boy suggests a calm and relaxed state of mind, an evenness of temperament that is part of the ideal of man represented. From this point onwards Greek sculptors went on to explore how the body could convey the whole range of human experience, culminating in the desperate anguish and pathos of Laocoön and his Sons (1st century AD) in the Hellenistic period.

Contents

20th Century

The Hiker

The technique continued to be employed during the 20th Century in works such as Allen George Newman's The Hiker.

See also

References

External links


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  • Contrapposto — es un término italiano para designar la oposición armónica de las distintas partes del cuerpo de la figura humana, lo que proporciona cierto movimiento y contribuye a romper la ley de la frontalidad. Fue el escultor Policleto quien lo puso en… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • contrapposto — ● contrapposto nom masculin (italien contrapposto) Dans une statue, position debout au repos dans laquelle le poids du corps se reporte sur une seule jambe, cependant que l épaule au dessus de cette jambe remonte (hanchement contrarié) …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • contrapposto — /kontra p:osto/ [part. pass. di contrapporre ]. ■ agg. [che è in opposizione logica, ideale: caratteri, principi c. ] ▶◀ antitetico, contrastante, opposto. ◀▶ coincidente, concorde. ■ s.m., non com. 1. [cosa o persona che si contrappone ad altra …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • contrapposto — 1903, from It. contrapposto, pp. of contrapporre, from L. contraponere (see CONTRAPOSITION (Cf. contraposition)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • Contrapposto — Copie d une statue de Polyclète en contrapposto. Le contrapposto ou hanchement désigne dans les arts visuels une attitude du corps humain où l une des deux jambes porte le poids du corps, l autre étant laissée libre et légèrement fléchie. Dans la …   Wikipédia en Français

  • contrapposto — /kohn treuh pos toh/, n., pl. contrappostos. Fine Arts. a representation of the human body in which the forms are organized on a varying or curving axis to provide an asymmetrical balance to the figure. [1900 05; < It < L contrapositus, ptp. of… …   Universalium

  • Contrapposto —    The posing of figures in sculpture and painting that imitates the natural human stance. When the human body stands in a relaxed pose, one leg bears its weight (the engaged leg) while the other remains free. In this position, the hips and… …   Dictionary of Renaissance art

  • Contrapposto — Hermes por Praxíteles. Contrapposto o chiasmo es un término italiano que designa la oposición armónica de las distintas partes del cuerpo de la figura humana, lo que proporciona cierto movimiento y contribuye a romper la ley de la frontalidad. Se …   Wikipedia Español

  • Contrapposto —    Italian term for a technique developed by ancient Greek sculptors to represent the human figure standing at ease in a relaxed and natural stance. It was based on an intentional assymetry of stance, with one leg carrying most of the body s… …   Historical Dictionary of Renaissance

  • contrapposto — con·trap·pó·sto p.pass., agg., s.m. 1. p.pass. → contrapporre, contrapporsi 2a. agg. CO opposto, antitetico: avere personalità contrapposte Sinonimi: antitetico, contrario. 2b. s.m. BU ciò che si contrappone: fare, servire da contrapposto a qcn.… …   Dizionario italiano

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