Torso of an Athlete in the Getty Villa, June 2016

Torso of an Athlete
Roman, about AD 100
Marble

Inventory # 73.AA.93

This sculpture of an athlete illustrates the ideal male body type developed by the Greek sculptor Polykleitos in about 440 BC. Polykleitos sought perfection through measurement, symmetry, and the careful balancing of opposites, such as tension and relaxation. He described this ideal in a treatise called the Kanon (Rule), one of the earliest manuals for sculptors. Polykleitos created the Doryphoros (Spear Bearer), to emphasize his aesthetic.

Text from the Getty Villa museum label.