The art of sculpture in ancient times

Many statues, generally female, and baked clay busts are preserved from Punic and Greco-Punic art, along with a variety of ivory and metal amulets that were discovered in the necropolises of Ibiza and Formentera. It is estimated that the oldest are works from the 8th century BC. C. and its manufacture continued until very advanced in Roman domination. Regarding Iberian sculpture, the works found are made of stone and bronze and come from three large areas in the south, center and east of the Iberian Peninsula, highlighting the excellent stone bust of the Lady of Elche, of Greek inspiration.

Archaic statuary was mainly religious. The temples were decorated with images of the gods, their exploits and battles, and the figures were unrealistic. The korai and kouroi are not portraits of specific people, the faces were given a fictitious smile, a facial gesture known in the art world as an "archaic smile." From this period it is worth mentioning the Head of Dipylon, a fragment of a colossal marble statue from the 6th century BC. C. and the Rampin Horseman (c. 560 BC), a later work that presents a treatment closer to naturalism. Greek sculpture reached a high degree of perfection, a quality that was driven by the search for a better expression of the beauty of the human figure; They came to establish a canon with proportions considered "perfect." Unfortunately, the Charioteer of Delphi, the pair of the Riace Bronzes together with that of the God of Cape Artemisius are part of the few Greek bronze sculptures that are preserved complete. One of the most significant artists of the classical period was Praxiteles, author of the magnificent Hermes with the Child Dionysus. During the Hellenic period it is observed that in the creation of sculptures, there is a clear intention to intensify movement and accentuate emotions as can be seen in the sculptural group of Laocoön and his children.

Etruscan sculpture (9th century BC—1st century BC) derived from Greek art, but they also produced works with their own characteristics. Statuary linked to funerary contexts is the most abundant Etruscan production and the material The choice, as a general rule, was terracotta, like the famous Sarcophagus of the Spouses. Later, Roman sculpture was influenced by Etruscan and Greek sculpture, and Roman artists made numerous copies of Greek works. It is worth highlighting the commemorative sculptures, such as those on Trajan's Column (114), where several battles are narrated in a continuous spiral that occupies the entire surface of the column, or the equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius. But one of the types of sculpture that most developed were portraits, realistic works with a marked psychological character that were made throughout the Roman Empire.