\paperw19995 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 Sixth century sculpture was primarily carved from stone. At the end of the Archaic period, the exponents of the Severe style
preferred bronze for free-standing statuary, using marble only for temple and decorative sculpture. The use of bronze allowed them to play extremely subtle tricks with the surface. The generation of artists that perfected Greek art was active from 450 B
C onward. It included Myron, Polyclitus, Phidias and the whole of the workshop that was employed on the decoration of the Parthenon. Sculptors created a totally new style in which a naturalistic approach was adopted with all its richness of form and sent
iment, but remained under the control provided by the order, balance and harmony of the composition. With the construction of the Parthenon and under the influence of Phidias, marble came back into style, and continued to be used throughout the fifth cen
tury. Almost nothing has survived of the large bronze sculptures from the first half of the century. Outstanding among the few that remain is the \i Poseidon\i0 from Cape Artemision in the National Museum of Athens. Among the great sculptors who worked
in bronze, Myron was the first to attain the perfect equilibrium and richness of the classical style. His attempt to represent the spontaneity of gesture was soon abandoned in favor of a predilection for figures that were immobile but composed on the bas
is of rigorous rhythms, a solution that was to remain valid throughout antiquity, and be revived during the Renaissance in Italy. The highest expression of this language came with Phidias, who was imitated by the artists of subsequent generations, result
ing in a mannered interpretation of his style. The Peloponnesian current, whose greatest exponent was Polyclitus, remained unchanged for the whole of the fourth century. It found expression in the creation of a plastic form that was firm and compact yet
vibrant, thus producing a dynamic and balanced structure.
