Whether or not Kritios was the innovator, with the
Kritios Boy (
ephebos) the Greek artist has mastered a complete understanding of how the different parts of the body act as a system. The statue moves away from the rigid and stiff pose of the Archaic style.
Kritios Boy presents a more relaxed and naturalistic pose known as
contrapposto. This stance forces a chain of anatomical events: as the pelvis is pushed diagonally upwards on the left side, the right buttock relaxes, the spine acquires an "S" curve, and the shoulder line dips on the left to counteract the action of the pelvis. Among classical Greek sculptures, the Kritios Boy expresses a set of proportions known as the "
Canon of
Polyclitus" It set the rule for later sculptors like
Praxiteles and
Lysippos, whose contrapposto, or ponderation, is more emphasised than the "subtle equilibrium of outline and axis which is to be the basis of classical art" The
Kritios Boy exhibits a number of other critical innovations that distinguish it from the
Archaic Kouroi from the seventh and sixth century BC that paved its way. The Archaic style relied more on geometrical shapes to define the contours of the human body. The muscular and skeletal structure of
Kritios Boy are depicted with unforced lifelike accuracy of flesh and bone, with the rib cage naturally expanded as if in the act of breathing, with a relaxed attitude and hips which are distinctly narrower. Sculptors had begun to break away from the rules of the Archaic style and follow representation that was closer to nature. As a final forebear of the classical period, the
archaic smile has been completely replaced by the accurate rendering of the lips and the austere expression that characterized the transitional
Severe style. It was created in same era as the ''
Blond Kouros's Head of the Acropolis and the group of the "Tyrannicides" Harmodius and Aristogeiton. A good example for comparison is the marble statue of an ephebos'' in the museum in
Agrigento. ==Notes and references==