Polykleitos (active ca. 450-420 BC), one of the great innovative Greek sculptors of the 5th century, stands alone in his concentration on the problems of the nude, male human body, for which he evolved a standard of proportion and representation that in one way or another influenced the subsequent development of sculpture in Western civilization.

Polykleitos, the elder of two sculptors of this name, was a master bronze caster of the Argive school. His earliest works, probably done about 450 B.C. or a little earlier, are statues of victors in athletic contests. The end of his career cannot have come long after 423, when the old temple of Hera in Argos burned and Polykleitos made a gold-and-ivory seated cult statue of Hera for the new temple.

In contrast to his contemporary Phidias, whose favorite subjects were gods and goddesses, Polykleitos portrayed mortals. He is most famous for creating an...