More than eight centuries after the reign of Akhenaten, as the late Archaic period blurs into the early Classical, we see signs that artists, particularly sculptors, are again beginning to really look at the world around them and reflect what they observe. The use of portraits can, by now, be found on mummy cases of the Greco-Egyptian period, though these are highly stylised.
One artefact has been found that literally embodies a radical new way, not only of observing from life, but in the understanding of life. It is known as The Critian Boy. Its name comes from being attributed by some scholars to the sculptor Kritios, because it bears some resemblance to other works by him and his students.
Remarkable in its naturalistic, anatomical accuracy, this scaled-down statuette (less than a metre tall) shows a significant and sudden shift in the way that the human body is represented and is one of the earliest examples of anatomically accurate sculpture created from careful and direct observation of a subject. Skilfully carved from white marble, it demonstrates a good knowledge, not only of the surface but also of the underlying skeleton and mechanics, of the body. All the major muscle groups are represented, correctly proportioned and the stance is a realistic, weight-bearing one. This marks the dawn of humanism in art.
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