Kritios Boy, Ancient marble sculpture at Acropolis Museum, Greece
This marble figure stands about 120 cm (47 inches) tall and shows a young man in a relaxed pose with weight resting on one leg. The torso turns slightly while the arms hang loose at the sides.
Archaeologists found this sculpture in 1865 southeast of the Parthenon in fragments and discovered the head 23 years later at the same excavation site. The pieces were joined and now show a work from around 480 BC.
The name honors sculptor Critius, whose workshop likely created this figure and introduced a new way to depict young men. Visitors today see one of the first sculptures to show the human body without stiffness or symmetry.
The museum presents the sculpture in a room with several similar works, allowing comparison of different ways to depict male figures. Good lighting makes it possible to see details such as surface treatment and muscle definition.
The hip stands slightly higher on one side than the other, an innovation that makes the human body at rest look more natural. This method later spread throughout Greek and Roman sculpture.
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