Doryphoros

The Doryphoros (Spear Bearer) by Polykleitos is one of the most influential sculptures in Western art history. The original bronze was created around 440 BCE and is now lost. What survives are Roman marble copies, the best of which is at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples.

Polykleitos wrote a treatise called the Canon laying out the ideal mathematical proportions of the human body. The Doryphoros was his demonstration piece. The figure uses contrapposto: weight on one leg, opposite arm engaged, creating an S-curve through the body. This weight-shift technique became the foundation of Western figurative sculpture for the next 2,400 years.