Lysippos (/laɪˈsɪpɒs/;Ancient Greek:Λύσιππος)^[1] was aGreek sculptor of the 4th century BC. Together withScopas andPraxiteles, he is considered one of the three greatest sculptors of theClassical Greek era, bringing transition into theHellenistic period. Problems confront the study of Lysippos because of the difficulty in identifying his style in the copies which survive. Not only did he have a large workshop and many disciples in his immediate circle,^[2] but there is understood to have been a market for replicas of his work, supplied from outside his circle, both in his lifetime and later in theHellenistic andRoman periods.^[3] TheVictorious Youth or Getty bronze, which resurfaced around 1972, has been associated with him.

Born atSicyon around 390 BC, Lysippos was a worker inbronze in his youth. He taught himself the art of sculpture, later becoming head of the school ofArgos and Sicyon. According to Pliny, he produced more than 1,500 works, all of them in bronze. Commentators noted his grace and elegance, and thesymmetria, or coherent balance, of his figures, which were leaner than the ideal represented by Polykleitos and with proportionately smaller heads, giving them the impression of greater height. He was famous for his attention to the details of eyelids and toenails.

His pupil,Chares of Lindos, constructed theColossus of Rhodes, one of theSeven Wonders of the Ancient World. As this statue does not exist today, debate continues as to whether its sections were cast in bronze or hammered of sheet bronze.

Lysippos was successor in contemporary repute to the famous sculptorPolykleitos. Among the works attributed to him are the so-calledHorses of Saint Mark,Eros Stringing the Bow (of which various copies exist, the best in theBritish Museum),Agias (known through the marble copy found and preserved inDelphi), the similarOil Pourer (Dresden andMunich), theFarnese Hercules (which was originally placed in theBaths of Caracalla, although the surviving marble copy lies in theNaples National Archaeological Museum) andApoxyomenos (orThe Scraper, known from aRoman marble copy in theVatican Museums). Lysippos was also famous for his bronze colossal sculptures of Zeus, 17 metres tall, and Herakles, seven meters seated, both from the city ofTaras. The only remaining version of one such statue is a Roman copy ofThe Weary Herakles (Farnese Hercules), by Glykon,^[4] with heavy musculature typical of early third century Rome.

Lysippos developed a moregracile style than his predecessorPolykleitos and this has become known as theCanon of Lysippos.^[5] In hisHistoria Naturalis,Pliny the elder wrote that Lysippos introduced a newcanon into art:capita minora faciendo quam antiqui, corpora graciliora siccioraque, per qum proceritas signorum major videretur,^[6][a] signifying "a canon of bodily proportions essentially different from that of Polykleitos".^[8] Lysippos is credited with having established the 'eight heads high' canon ofbody proportions.^[9]

During his lifetime, Lysippos was personal sculptor toAlexander the Great; indeed, he was the only artist whom the conqueror saw fit to represent him.^[10] An epigram byPosidippus, previously only known from theAnthology of Planudes (APl 119), but also found on the recently discoveredMilan Papyrus (65 Austin-Bastianini), takes as its inspiration a bronze portrait of Alexander:

Lysippus, sculptor of Sicyon, bold hand,
cunning craftsman, fire is in the glance of the bronze,
which you made in the form of Alexander. In no way can one blame
thePersians: cattle may be forgiven for flying before a lion.^[11]

And similarly, an epigram byAsclepiades (APl 120):

Lysippus modelled Alexander's daring and his whole form.
How great is the power of this bronze! The brazen king
seems to be gazing at Zeus and about to say:
"I set Earth under my feet; thyself, Zeus, possess Olympus."^[12]

Lysippos has been credited with the stock representation of an inspired, godlike Alexander with tousled hair and lips parted, looking upward^[13] in what came to be known as the 'Lysippean gaze'. One fine example, an early Imperial Roman copy found atTivoli, is conserved at theLouvre.

In 1972, theVictorious Youth, Getty Bronze, orAtleta di Fano to Italians, was discovered and at the urging of Paul Getty, bought by theGetty Museum. The bronze was pulled out of the sea and restored. Because of the amount of corrosion and the thick layer of incrustation that coated the statue when it was found, it can be assumed that it was beneath the water for centuries. This is less than surprising, as most of the classical bronze statues archeologists have found have been fished out of the Mediterranean Sea. It was not uncommon for a shipwreck to occur with something as precious as a sculpture on board. Without any way to find or retrieve them, these pieces were left to sit at the bottom of the ocean for centuries. The damaging corrosion can be removed by cleaning the surfaces mechanically with a scalpel.^[15]

The Getty Bronze is believed by some to be Lysippos's work, or at least a copy, because the detail on it is consistent with his style of work and hiscanon of proportions. Lysippos's work is described by ancient sources as naturalistic with slender and often lengthened proportions, often with exaggerated facial features.^[16] Those depicted in the works of Lysippos had smaller heads than those of his mentorPolykleitos because he used a one to eight scale for the head and the total height of the body.^[17]

• Lysistratus, another Greek sculptor

• A. F. Stewart, "Lysippan Studies" 2. Agias and Oilpourer"American Journal of Archaeology82.3 (Summer 1978), pp. 301–313.

• Gardner, P. 1905. 'The Apoxymenos of Lysippos',JHS25:234-59.
• Serwint, N. 1996. 'Lysippos', inThe Dictionary of Art vol. 19: 852–54.
• Stewart, A.F. 1983. 'Lysippos and Hellenistic sculpture',AJA87:262.
• Vermeule, C.C. 1975. 'The weary Herakles of Lysippos',AJA79:323–32.