Archaic Greek sculpture represents the first stages of the formation of a sculptural tradition that became one of the most significant in the entire history of Western art. The Archaic period of ancient Greece is poorly delimited, and there is great controversy among scholars on the subject. It is generally considered to begin between 700 and 650 BC and end between 500 and 480 BC, but some indicate a much earlier date for its beginning, 776 BC, the date of the first Olympiad.[1] In this period the foundations were laid for the emergence of large-scale autonomous sculpture and monumental sculpture for the decoration of buildings. This evolution depended in its origins on the oriental and Egyptian influence, but soon acquired a peculiar and original character.[2]
For a long time considered a mere prelude to Classical Greece, today the Archaic period is seen as a moment of intense intellectual, political and artistic activity, during which decisive achievements were made for the consolidation of Greek culture as a whole,[3] and the sculpture of that time has great merits of its own, being a vehicle of specific and fundamental meanings for the society from which it was born through the development of unique forms.[4]
From inauspicious beginnings, the sculpture of the Archaic period in its final stages attained high levels of aesthetic quality and formal complexity, signaling the passage from a practically aniconic culture to one in which visuality and figuration had become predominant, leaving a wide and seminal repertoire of representative types and modes, with particular emphasis on the human figure.[5]